I suppose the good news here is that the new Farrelly brothers movie isn't the worst thing they've ever done (that honor still belongs to THE HEARTBREAK KID). In fact, their version of THE THREE STOOGES (which is actually treated like three episodes of the old serial) actually did make me laugh more than a few times thanks in part to the three utterly committed performances by the lead actors. The movie is a prime example of just throwing jokes, pratfalls, sight gags, prop comedy and probably the kitchen sink at the audience and seeing what sticks. And believe it or not, some of it sticks. Naturally, some of it is so broad that they best you can hope for is a pained eye roll, but Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe, Sean Hayes as Larry and Will Sasso as Curly all have their moments.
What we also have to endure is Jane Lynch as the Mother Superior at an orphanage where the boys arrive as babies and are never adopted, Larry David as the mean nun that the boys are always taunting, and Jennifer Hudson and Kate Upton as fellow nuns. Craig Bierko and Sofia Vergara (with her never-gets-old strong accent) play as an adulterous couple that mean the Stooges harm, and almost nothing about any of the supplemental characters is especially humorous. No, what made me laugh occasionally were the same things that used to make me laugh at the Stooges shorts—their anti-authority stance and complete disregard for well-mannered behavior. I could have done with all of the modern references (most of which will not age well); the idea of Moe becoming a part of the cast of "Jersey Shore" is an example of anti-humor and the cheapest of cheap stunts.
Some of the Farrelly's love of the Stooges is on display here, and clearly they weren't looking to do a biopic or hard-hitting character study of the team. But simply thrusting the boys into modern times feels too square peg/round hole for my tastes. The idea that the don't know about cell phones because they've lived in an orphanage their entire lives seems like an utterly pointless stretch.
But truth be told, there were times watch THE THREE STOOGES where I laughed. The random, insensitive nicknames Moe gives people he comes across are almost always hilarious. And on a strictly impersonation level, all three of the actors floored me with how perfectly they captured the on-screen personae and movements of the Stooges. Nothing else really works as well, and it's hard for me to imagine that die-hard Three Stooges fans will really want any part of this movie, but I've misjudged audiences before. I can't even imagine kids getting into the movie behind reacting to the physical comedy. Make no mistake, THE THREE STOOGES is a bad movie, but it's nowhere near the catastrophe I'd expected it to be. Keeping it short helps it tremendously.
