Having experienced much of the Farrelly brothers’ back catalogue, it was not a surprise to learn that they were going to take a stab at a modern film starring these slapstick favourites.
Larry, Moe and Curly don’t need much of an introduction. Not because you know everything about them but because there isn’t much to know. The film’s premise is simple: they grow up in orphanage with the nuns and then the nuns are stuck with them forever and ever…until the orphanage gets a bill of $830,000 that they have to pay or be evicted.
The three stooges go out into the world and try, with their limited know-how, to get the dosh despite not actually understanding how much money they actually need. They end up embroiled in some shady dealings with some good-for-nothing wannabe crooks but somehow manage to muddle their way through.
The best thing about The Three Stooges is the stupid slapstick violence, as it always was. So what if the sledgehammers are made of rubber and the boys don’t really poke each other in the eyes; the comic sound effects say they do! The story is warm but a bit irrelevant; the running time is just short enough to keep your attention until the credits.
The actors playing the three are how you would imagine them to be. Moe is serious and self-righteous, the self-appointed leader keeping the other two in line, played by Chris Diamantopoulos. Larry is played by TV’s Sean Hayes, you may remember him as the funny one from Will and Grace, who doesn’t have to apply any of his former character’s biting wit but has had to learn how to yelp and squawk at regular intervals. Curly is played by Will Sasso, a comedy bit part player who once starred in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as ‘classmate’. Jane Lynch and Larry David are amusing as the nuns running the orphanage.
You might be sceptical going in to see this particular piece of output from the Farrelly brothers but you need not be. It’s forgettable but fun; the kids will like it and you will too.
Maryann has awarded The Three Stooges three Torches of Truth.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
These guys always used to make me laugh when I was younger, and they always do now whenever I catch them on TV. Some of my coworkers at Dish said that the movie was funny, but not as good as the original. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve added the Three Stooges to my Blockbuster @Home queue so that I can catch a few laughs. I hope it’s a little better than what people are saying!
I think the Farrelly Brothers have lost it recently, in my opinion. What happened to the class of Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary?