Coming out of the gate with a great review for the Alamo Darfthouse showing of The FP, our new writer Ruben Leal has another great review of a movie already out in theaters, but it could still be something you might want to see based off of his review here. Take a look at the Austin Connection’s Ruben Leal review of an old-school comedy troupe we ALL grew up with, The Three Stooges (2012).
Review by: Ruben Leal
When I first heard that The Three Stooges was being released on the big screen, I’m not sure if I was more shocked or mortified. Heck, why not just call it a mix of both and say that I was shockified. I was partially shocked because I couldn’t believe that Hollywood was allowing someone to recreate the beloved trio of Moe, Larry & Curly – some of the best of the best when it came to slapstick comedy. But the task was given to the Farrelly brothers to do this remake. They made such classics like There’s Something About Mary, Dumb & Dumber and 2011’s Hall Pass. On top of that, I was pretty terrified of the remake considering the horrible track record Hollywood has with remaking films that didn’t need to be remade in the first place.
But was this the Farrelly brothers doing the remake right?
To be able to face this movie with an open mind, I had to constantly tell myself not to compare it to the original stooges, ‘cus it would instantly fail. In addition, I also tried my best and actually succeeded in not watching any trailers or promo shots/images. I wanted to go into the theater with as little outside influence as I possibly could.
The movie itself is edited down into three segments to simulate the nature of the original short film format. This approach was unexpected and actually worked out well. The individual stories were cut at the right spots and bridged together with their own title sequences just like the originals. In regards to the casting and writing, I think that they tried to do too much.
The casting for this film had trouble right from the start. Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn and Jim Carrey were originally asked to play Moe, Larry & Curly. Later both Benicio and Sean left the project and Jim was still unconfirmed. After Benicio bailed, Hank Azaria was rumored to fill the spot of Moe which I think would have been a perfect fit. Sadly, that was just a rumor and the final casting was set as Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe, Sean Hayes as Larry, Will Sasso as Curly. Also added to the cast were Sophia Vergara, Jane Lynch, Jennifer Hudson and Kate Upton. Sophia Vergara plays your typical eye-candy of a wife, and Lynch, Hudson and Upton team up and play nuns at an orphanage that the stooges are dumped at.
By dumped I literally mean that; they were all stuffed into a duffel bag and thrown out a speeding car window landing on the front doorstep of the orphanage. Personally I didn’t find this too funny, but that’s for a whole other reason I won’t get into. As mentioned earlier, the writing isn’t anything spectacular. The movie is filled with innuendo and cheap shots and several “OMG did they really just say that?!” moments but lacks originality in the story. Without giving anything away, the plot is overplayed and easy to figure out. I’ll admit if you are not sitting there trying to constantly make comparisons to the original stooges, then you’ll have some laughs and chuckles. While it wasn’t gut-busting, I found myself laughing more than I thought I would.
At least that was true until the disclaimer clip that followed right after the movie. If there was ever a moment that could ruin a movie, that was it. The purpose of the disclaimer was to remind viewers that the hammers, chainsaws, sledgehammers and other items that were used in the movie were not real and to not go whacking your friends in the head w/those objects as they would cause serious harm.
The disclaimer is completely warranted, however the delivery of it should have been done completely differently. Having the Farrelly brothers, Peter and Bobby’s Beefcake stunt doubles with open shirt flexing their man pecks looking like they just stepped off the Jersey Shore in true douche-bag form just blew it. Like I said, the message is warranted, but how it was delivered was just a complete FAIL. When did we lose touch with old-school vaudevillian slapstick comedy that we have to put a disclaimer a the end of a Farrelly brothers movie? So jiz on someones ear doesn’t warrant one, but obviously choreographed slapstick does?
Check out the Trailer here.
Overall, the movie can hold its own as long as you go in with an open mind that it is its own movie and don’t compare it to the original Moe, Larry & Curly. If you’re looking to kill a little time and have nothing better to do with your day, then I’d say go watch The Three Stooges. Just make sure you don’t stay for the disclaimer right after the movie. Even with all its one-liners and slapstick comedy aplenty, officially this movie has earned the 3 out of 5 Nerdskulls I’m giving it.
