Post by Rob W. Case on Jul 3, 2012 5:16:14 GMT -6
It’s a face-slapping, hair-pulling, eye-poking, hammer to the head! And it’s done by the three men who do it best; Moe, Larry, and Curly in this modern-day rendition of the most popular comedy trio in history; the Three Stooges.
The Plot:
The film begins in 1939, where three babies are left on the doorstep of an orphanage runned by Nuns. Growing into childhood, Moe, Larry, and Curly yearn to be adopted by a couple who will not break them apart. In an attempt to adopt Moe, Moe tries to get Larry and Curly adopted into the new family he is about to join, and offers his new parents an ultimatum. If they take him, they must take the other two also. Rejecting his demands, they drive Moe back to the orphanage and choose another child to take in. Growing up in the orphanage, the Three Stooges take on maintenance type responsibilities around the orphanage, which of course, leads to opportunities for many silly routines. Yet, as time goes by, the orphanage falls into financial trouble, and so Moe, Larry, and Curly try to do all they can to help raise the money needed to help keep the orphanage going. In trying to earn money, they accidentally fall into a murder plot involving the kid that Moe’s projected "parents" adopted. To make a long story short, his wife is trying to kill him. Then, if that weren’t enough, the Stooges search for ways to make a buck, paving the way for more opportunities to get into more silly routines. Yet along the way, an incident occurs, and the Stooges go their separate ways, which leads Moe to co-star in a reality TV show called Jersey Shore. And so, we continue to see how Moe, Larry, and Curly try to come up with the money needed to keep the orphanage going…. But are they successful? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out more, or risk Moe coming over to your house just to give you a good swift kick in the pants.
At any rate…..
Subplots and “Episodes”:
While the overall plot extends from the beginning of the film, to the end, much of the film is also broken down into “episodes” with separate subplots within those episodes. In other words, this film is broken down into 3 “shorts” with each short leading to the next chapter in the main plot, but carrying its own subplots. This, I thought, added a creative touch to the film, which sort of added a nostalgic type feel to it. The original Three Stooges were actually shorts that were shown in movie theaters, before the main feature film played. It was an added attraction.
The casting in this film was excellent. Chris Diamantopoulos played Moe, and resembled the original Moe Howard very well. Sean Hayes played Larry Fine really well, and even had the voice down pat. And Will Sasso, whom I like a lot from his Mad-TV years, pulled the Curly character off wonderfully.
The Original Vs. the Modern:
I guess the biggest question about this movie is, how did it compare to the original Three Stooges, or does it? While there is no comparison between the original and the modern-day version (the original is always the best), I was under the impression that the producers knew exactly what they were up against, (but fought against the inevitable pre-judgments that would toss this type of film into the dustbin of movie history before being given a sportsman's chance) and decided to do the film as best they could, while re-incorporating old fashioned, slapstick comedy techniques. While the film did not quite measure up to the integrity of the originals, it was way better than one could expect. Normally, when a movie tries to take world-famous fictional characters from a previous era, and insert them into modern times, the modern times aspect has a tendency to ruin characters that are funnier, or more stand-outish in an old fashioned setting. And while it did feel strange to see Moe in a “reality-TV” show, it also felt weird to see Larry David play a Nun named Sister Mary-Mengele, while still looking like Larry David in a Nun suit with no explanation or comedic reference to anything. In other words, why is Larry David playing the role of a Nun? Another aspect was having two people play the Farelly Brothers (the writers of this film), explain how the physical stunts are done, and at the same time, offer a demonstration on how they do the routines safely, while at the same time urging kids not to try the stunts out at home.
Yet all in all, the film was enjoyable, and one that I enjoyed on a variety of levels.
Out of 4, stars, I would have to give this film 2 and a half.
The film is rated PG and runs approximately 1 hour and 32 minutes.
For more about this film, visit:
www.threestooges.com/
To view the trailers for this film, please click on the links below:
Trailer 1:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4IoUo_ZJkY
Trailer 2:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA6DLxKLkfU&feature=relmfu
The Plot:
The film begins in 1939, where three babies are left on the doorstep of an orphanage runned by Nuns. Growing into childhood, Moe, Larry, and Curly yearn to be adopted by a couple who will not break them apart. In an attempt to adopt Moe, Moe tries to get Larry and Curly adopted into the new family he is about to join, and offers his new parents an ultimatum. If they take him, they must take the other two also. Rejecting his demands, they drive Moe back to the orphanage and choose another child to take in. Growing up in the orphanage, the Three Stooges take on maintenance type responsibilities around the orphanage, which of course, leads to opportunities for many silly routines. Yet, as time goes by, the orphanage falls into financial trouble, and so Moe, Larry, and Curly try to do all they can to help raise the money needed to help keep the orphanage going. In trying to earn money, they accidentally fall into a murder plot involving the kid that Moe’s projected "parents" adopted. To make a long story short, his wife is trying to kill him. Then, if that weren’t enough, the Stooges search for ways to make a buck, paving the way for more opportunities to get into more silly routines. Yet along the way, an incident occurs, and the Stooges go their separate ways, which leads Moe to co-star in a reality TV show called Jersey Shore. And so, we continue to see how Moe, Larry, and Curly try to come up with the money needed to keep the orphanage going…. But are they successful? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out more, or risk Moe coming over to your house just to give you a good swift kick in the pants.
At any rate…..
Subplots and “Episodes”:
While the overall plot extends from the beginning of the film, to the end, much of the film is also broken down into “episodes” with separate subplots within those episodes. In other words, this film is broken down into 3 “shorts” with each short leading to the next chapter in the main plot, but carrying its own subplots. This, I thought, added a creative touch to the film, which sort of added a nostalgic type feel to it. The original Three Stooges were actually shorts that were shown in movie theaters, before the main feature film played. It was an added attraction.
The casting in this film was excellent. Chris Diamantopoulos played Moe, and resembled the original Moe Howard very well. Sean Hayes played Larry Fine really well, and even had the voice down pat. And Will Sasso, whom I like a lot from his Mad-TV years, pulled the Curly character off wonderfully.
The Original Vs. the Modern:
I guess the biggest question about this movie is, how did it compare to the original Three Stooges, or does it? While there is no comparison between the original and the modern-day version (the original is always the best), I was under the impression that the producers knew exactly what they were up against, (but fought against the inevitable pre-judgments that would toss this type of film into the dustbin of movie history before being given a sportsman's chance) and decided to do the film as best they could, while re-incorporating old fashioned, slapstick comedy techniques. While the film did not quite measure up to the integrity of the originals, it was way better than one could expect. Normally, when a movie tries to take world-famous fictional characters from a previous era, and insert them into modern times, the modern times aspect has a tendency to ruin characters that are funnier, or more stand-outish in an old fashioned setting. And while it did feel strange to see Moe in a “reality-TV” show, it also felt weird to see Larry David play a Nun named Sister Mary-Mengele, while still looking like Larry David in a Nun suit with no explanation or comedic reference to anything. In other words, why is Larry David playing the role of a Nun? Another aspect was having two people play the Farelly Brothers (the writers of this film), explain how the physical stunts are done, and at the same time, offer a demonstration on how they do the routines safely, while at the same time urging kids not to try the stunts out at home.
Yet all in all, the film was enjoyable, and one that I enjoyed on a variety of levels.
Out of 4, stars, I would have to give this film 2 and a half.
The film is rated PG and runs approximately 1 hour and 32 minutes.
For more about this film, visit:
www.threestooges.com/
To view the trailers for this film, please click on the links below:
Trailer 1:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4IoUo_ZJkY
Trailer 2:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA6DLxKLkfU&feature=relmfu