Now Playing: Another Farrelly Brothers Dud

From the very first trailer, I didn’t expect ‘The Three Stooges’ to be any good, but I had some hope that it might be anyway. I grew up watching marathons of the classics with my old man on just about every major holiday, so I wanted the ‘Stooges’ movie to be good. From the trailers, the actors playing Larry, Moe and Curly seemed a lot better than I thought they’d be upon first hearing the casting. Unfortunately, little did I know that the story they’d be written into would ruin everything that made the original Stooges films worth watching.

‘The Three Stooges’ doesn’t do a single thing that the original series didn’t do better. All of the typical bonks, quirks, gags, stunts and effects are all revived, but the modern look and setting don’t mix with them at all. Instead of being black & white and set in the ’30s, the movie is colorful and set in present day. The Stooges just don’t fit in the modern period. While the characters aren’t updated, the story tries to place the eye-poking trio into our world. Just to let you know how bad it gets, here’s a spoilerific example: Moe is cast as the newest member of ‘The Jersey Shore’. Hopefully, that will be enough to deter you from seeing this turd.

So, what warrants a one-star rating instead of zero stars? A few things. Larry David plays an awesome nun, a few stunts are exactly recreated from the old movies, and some of the gags are classic Stooges. Oh, yeah, we get to see Kate Upton in a nun bikini. Other than that, it’s a wasted opportunity. Had this movie been set in the ’30s and shot in black & white, it might have been fantastic. As is, it’s highly skippable, and will leave long-time ‘Stooges’ fans upset.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

2 comments

  1. Kevin

    I always try to give films a chance before completely dismissing them, whether they’re of interest to me or not. After all, you never know, you could end up missing out on some really great stuff, if you blow it off.

    This will not be one of those films for me, though. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been more annoyed by the mere existence of a movie than I am with this one. From the previews, it’s obvious that this film is a slap in the face to “Stooges” fans, not to mention the Stooges themselves.

    And the mere thought of this film’s existence has me worried about what other past greats Hollywood is going to decide to destroy next… Chaplin’s Tramp? The Marx Brothers? Abbott and Costello? Where does it end?

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