The Three Stooges
Starring: Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos, Will Sasso, Jane Lynch, Sofia Vergara, Jennifer Hudson, Craig Bierko, Stephen Collins, Larry David, Kate Upton
Directed by: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farelly
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Moe, Larry, and Curly try to save their orphanage and find a way to raise $830,000.

Review:
Tim: Let's start with the good. It is pretty crazy that this movie was even able to be made. The Farrelly Brothers brought The Three Stooges into the modern day. This was not an easy task, as the slapstick humor of the Three Stooges doesn't exactly fit perfectly in the second decade of the 2000s. However, the Farrellys managed to get this movie made, and perhaps a new generation of moviegoers will appreciate the Three Stooges. That is very, very good.

Now, let's get to the bad, which is pretty much everything about this movie. I really am surprised by how much I disliked the film. I appreciate the Farrellys creating a movie that was true to the original spirit of the Three Stooges, but this movie just was not very funny. I will say that my favorite line of the whole film is when the bell hits the nun in the face and you get this exchange- "Is that Sister Mary-Mengele?" "I don't know, but her face rings a bell". That is truly hilarious and I loved that moment. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is far too short on real laughs. The hijinks of the Three Stooges are occasionally humorous (when Curley holds the iPhone up to his eye and says Hello? Hello? There's nobody there!), but overall, the movie is just not very funny. It is so, so stupid. The jokes are so juvenile and so stupid that I could not enjoy the viewing experience. I remember when the Farrellys could really make the audience laugh. This movie might have been hampered by the fact that the Three Stooges humor isn't exactly a perfect fit for 2012, but this movie still should have been a lot funnier.

The cast is average. Sean Hayes was a funny choice for Larry. He is almost unrecognizable in the role. I thought he was decent, but not great. He was the best of the three, though. Will Sasso certainly looks like Curly, but I just do not believe he is a great actor. He has some of the funniest moments of the film, but overall, his performance was a bit lackluster. Chris Diamantopoulos was pretty average as Moe. I really don't believe any of these three are great actors, and that shows up on screen. The supporting cast is average. Jane Lynch and Sofia Vergara continue their trend of being in a lot of movies and always being very overrated. Larry David was pretty funny in his role and was actually one of the better casting choices. I liked seeing Isaiah Mustafa, and Stephen Collins is always a nice addition. I hated that the cast of Jersey Shore was in this movie. They are so incredibly stupid, and there was no reason for that aspect of the story. It hurt the film.

This is not a good movie. There simply wasn't enough material here to make a feature length film. The movie is broken into different episodes, which felt a little bit disruptive. The movie is only 92 minutes, but even that felt too long. The script tries to stretch too little too far, and it simply does not work. It's hard for me to be so hard on this movie, because I can tell the Farrellys wanted to make a movie that was true to the original Three Stooges. I appreciate the passion, but I just simply hated the execution of it.

The Three Stooges is a really stupid, joyless movie. I did not have fun watching it, and I was not entertained. It's been about a decade since a Farrelly Brothers movie that I really liked, and I just feel like these guys are completely washed up. They have seemingly forgotten how to make a good, funny comedy. This latest effort is one of their worst.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 3.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Hall Pass, The Heartbreak Kid, Stuck on You