Three Stooges
Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Cast: Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, Chris Diamantopoulos
Rated: PG
Running time: 92 minutes
If nothing else, this movie made me ask the biggest question - why? Why are we on this planet and, more importantly, who did they think would want to watch an updated Three Stooges movie? Don't get me wrong; the original existed in a time and space that certainly made me laugh, but to transpose those characters into 2012? Again, why?
The scene is set with the stooge babies being thrown from a moving car to the orphanage with the nuns proclaiming them the Holy Trinity. Soon they grow up and dive right into a "let's go into the real world to get money to save the orphanage/theatre/home" plot.
The actual stooges are, well, fantastic. I, too, was surprised as Chris Diamantopoulos, Sean Hayes, Will Sasso (Moe, Larry and Curly, respectively) nailed the characters with an obvious appreciation. Easily the best parts of the film are the namesake eye gouges, head bonks and "nyuk-nyuk-nyuk" and "woo-woo-woo" bits. The plot, however, has these characters thrown into 2012 and the results are mixed to say the least. Putting up with the stooges, we have Jane Lynch as a nun and Sofia Vergara as a murderous wife. Topping the bizarre charts, however, is the extended appearance of the entire cast of Jersey Shore. A pox on the career of whomever made that happen.
In the end, while I certainly wouldn't recommend this film, it is better than anyone has the right to legally expect it to be. I still don't know who it's being sold to, though. The insane, over-the-top violence would probably dictate it's not for kids, but if it's for fans of the original - why add Jersey Shore? I believe that years from now, many will be pleasantly surprised when this comes on TV and they are too hungover to change the channel.
