The Three Stooges(2012)

Ten years later, desperate to be rid of the three, the nuns tell a prospectively adoptive couple that the trio are the only three children available. They're then forced to add a fourth for consideration when a boy named Teddy wanders into the room. The couple, the Harters, decides to pick Moe; but when he requests that Larry and Curly join him, they take him back to the orphanage and choose Teddy instead. Hiding his true motives, Moe tells Larry and Curly that he came back because the Harters were only going to make him do chores.

The Three Stooges(2012)

25 years later, in the present, the trio are adults, still living at the orphanage and working as maintenance men. Monsignor Ratliffe arrives and tells Mother Superior that the orphanage must be closed, and she tells Sister Mary-Mengele to fetch the trio. The three are trying to fix the malfunctioning bell on the roof; but when Larry removes the bell's "DO NOT REMOVE" tag (misreading it as "Donut Remover"), it falls and injures Sister Mary-Mengele just as she arrives. When they go to the Mother Superior, another accident causes Monsignor Ratliffe to fall on top of the nuns. Moe, Larry and Curly, thinking he is "getting fresh" with the nuns, attack him, until Mother Superior stops them. Ratliffe will not adopt them either as he is on official business.

Larry and Curly later meet up with Teddy's adopted father at his office to talk about what happened with the orphanage. Teddy's father confesses that Moe wanted him to go back for his friends to adopt them, and he thought three kids would be too many to handle, so he gave Moe back and took Teddy in his place. Then Larry and Curly discover a picture of Teddy and Mr. Harter with Lydia and Mac, and realize that Teddy is the husband that Lydia wanted to murder. In addition to this, they feel guilty for rebuking Moe in not accepting the Harter's adoption and decide to go find him.

The Farrellys said that they were not going to do a biopic or remake, but instead new Three Stooges episodes set in the present day. The film was divided into three segments, each with a stand-alone story, and each being 27 minutes long.[9] The Farrellys aimed to receive a PG rating from the MPAA, while still incorporating physical comedy. In Britain several images were cut before the film achieved the equivalent rating.[3] The Farrellys have also said it would have "non-stop slapping, more in the tone of Dumb and Dumber than we've done. Our goal is 85 minutes of laughs in a film that will be very respectful of who the Stooges were. It's by far the riskiest project we've ever done, without question, but it is also the one closest to our hearts."[10]

Betsy Sherman of The Boston Phoenix gave it three out of four stars, saying it was "funny and faithful", and added that the film contains "stories that could have graced [the Stooges]' 1930s shorts (raise money to save an orphanage, stumble into a greedy wife's plot) onto the present and imagine how they'd interpret modern concepts (farm-raised salmon)".[36]

I found the three stooges (the originals) to be very funny when I was a child (under age 10). It just seemed like goofy nonsense and slapstick humor and that was all I wanted at age 8 and 9....now I'm 39.

Mr. Harter was a rich man who married women to get rich and not out of love. He came to an orphanage to adopt an orphan. He initially chose Moe but as they drove off in their car Moe asked if he could go back and adopt his two friends, Larry and Curly. Mr. Harter thought three kids were too much and dropped Moe off back at the orphanage and adopted a young Teddy.

True Stoogeaholics will most likely long to be watching one of the original shorts instead of spending time on this one (which is divided into three titled segments). The jokes are clearly stuck in the 1930s while the boys are supposed to exist in the present day. Also, the painful physical humor and aggression that long ago audiences enjoyed may not translate well to modern, politically-correct sensibilities.

Three Stooges Mash-up is all of the slapstick found in the film rolled up into three minutes. A screen test will show how these three were meant for the parts from the beginning. A series of trailers and BD-Live access end this one. [xrr rating=3/5 label=Extras]

Although the Stooges made some feature films, the bulk of their work was in shorts and watching this 90 minute feature, it's easy to see why. Their comedy just doesn't lend itself easily to a sustained full length plot. In a sort of imitation of their shorts, this film is divided loosely into three chapters, each labeled as its own short, but really it's all one story.

I agree Scott, that the Three Stooges's sense of humor does not lend itself to a feature length film. Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly obviously did as well. Breaking up the film into three episodes was just one of many aspects reminiscent of the original. The feature length films the real Three Stooges made late in their careers featured Curly Joe, who replaced Shemp, who replaced Curly, so they barely count anyway.

The first segment is my favorite. It features the three stooges as babies, boys and middle aged men. They wreak havoc as they torment the nuns. They mostly disturb, and perturb, a scene stealing Larry David in nun drag. It also contains a moment of heart when Moe gets adopted but refuses to abandon his two buddies, allowing another orphan to be adopted instead. As adults they run into him where they ask if he remembers them. Moe proudly states, "Remember, we taught you how to play with matches?"

All three of the actors have the mannerism and voices down really well. Will Sasso has the blank stare and holds his hands as Curly did, but at 6'3" he is well above Curly Howard's 5'5" round build. Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe seems to be working the hardest. He constantly holds his head down into his shoulders and maintains that scowl. He deserves credit just for having to share a scene with Snooky. For my money, Sean Hayes does the best job. His Larry Fine is spot on. With the wig, there is a physical resemblance. Several jokes are made at it's expense. He has Larry's voice down pat as well. Listen to him say such lines as,"How many boogers we talking?"

Fans of the original Three Stooges should not be offended by this remake. It pays homage to, them, as well as adds to the Stooges legacy. Scott mention that, "As a sign of the times, there is a message at the end of the film warning kids..." This is not a modern idea created by the Farrelly brothers at all. When the shorts first became popular on television the three surviving Stooges, Moe, Larry and Curly Joe did a television promo where they demonstrated how the eye poke was actually a forehead poke and warned children not to try it at home.

We all agree on one thing. The Three Stooges' brand of slapstick comedy is better suited for two-reelers than feature length films. This movie should have been about 20 minutes shorter. Still I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The three actors do a fine job as the Stooges and the humor - for the most part - is of the old-fashioned variety that would have been at home in an original Three Stooges short.

Larry (Sean Hayes), Curly (Will Sasso), and Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos) are the Three Stooges. The Farrelly brothers takes on this high risk project with little possible rewards. If it goes wrong, the Farrellys will be ridiculed (as they do from some quarters). And how much reward would they get for making a Three Stooges movie anyways? In general, the three guys do a great mimicry job. The story starting with the orphanage which had good heart. The main problem is the oddball murder plot. It's way too serious to do slap sticks on. All in all, these are likable characters and they have good fun. The Farrelly brothers comedic credentials survives another day.

Watching The Three Stooges movie for the new century I got the impression I was watching one giant tribute show, something along the lines of James Whitmore doing Harry Truman. Maybe Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, and Chris Diamantopoulos might do just that and take a live show on the road should this film prove successful.As The Three Stooges back in the day did their work at Columbia Pictures I was wondering why Columbia instead of 20th Century Fox did this particular film. But who am I to complain as these ersatz caricatures did a reasonably good job at imitating the originals.The Stooges start out as boys with three kids doing imitations of them, they were left as foundling babies at a Catholic orphanage. As they grow up they never leave the nest, Moe almost gets adopted but turns it down saying they're a package deal. Nobody wanted that particular package and they took an altogether different kid.Evil times befall the orphanage and the Stooges go out into the world looking to raise $800,000.00+ to pull the orphanage from debt. On the way they save the life of the kid who was adopted in Moe's place and who has grown up to be Kirby Heyborne. Do you doubt the orphanage was saved in Stooge fashion of course. Some definite changes come into place there.Special mention should go to Larry David who played the nun who was the special target, even inadvertently of Stooges mayhem. He steals every scene he's in with The Three Stooges.Young audiences might appreciate this film, a chance to become acquainted with a true American institution. Hopefully they will check out the real deal as well.

Ten years later, out of desperation, when a prospective couple comes to adopt, the exasperated nuns bring out the trio as being the only three available, eventually being forced to add a fourth when another boy, Teddy, enters the picture. The couple, the Harters, decides to pick Moe, but when he requests Larry and Curly to join him, he is dropped back off at the orphanage, and they choose Teddy instead. When he goes back to the orphanage, Moe lies to Larry and Curly that the reason he came back is because the Harters were going to let him do chores. 041b061a72