Monday, April 16, 2012

Review: The Three Stooges (2012)


Written and directed by die-hard Three Stooges fans Bobby and Peter Farrelly, this new tribute is both loving and peculiar. The cast members emulate the famous 1930s-era comedians perfectly, catching their rhythms, tones and mannerisms with amazing accuracy. And in copying the very primal combination of wordplay and slapstick, they generate some genuine laughs.

Dropped at an orphanage as babies, Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos), Larry (Sean Hayes), and Curly (Will Sasso) grow up to be troublemakers. Moe nearly gets adopted, but does not wish to go without his friends. As adults, they still work at the orphanage, constantly poking and hitting one another and causing all sorts of havoc. When the future of the orphanage is threatened, the Stooges head to the big city to raise the money to save it. This involves a seedy murder/infidelity plot, of which the boys have no knowledge, but it also involves Moe landing a role on the reality show "Jersey Shore." Can the Stooges get themselves out of trouble and save the kids?

But the movie has mixed messages. Though the Stooges are shown to be "pure of heart," they agree to murder a man for money (even though the man is said to be terminally ill and the money will go to save the orphanage). And though their violence is usually reserved for each other, sometimes other characters suffer directly or indirectly from their antics. Overall, it still has a few misplaced scenes, such as a battle with peeing babies, but the Farrellys keep this movie more focused and less bloated than some of their other efforts.

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