Three Stooges, The (2012)

THE SCOOP

Director:  Bobby & Peter Farrelly
Cast:  Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos, Will Sasso
Plot:  While trying to save their childhood orphanage, Moe, Larry, and Curly inadvertently stumble into a murder plot and wind up starring in a reality TV show.

Genre:  Comedy
Awards:  -
Runtime:  92min
Rating:  PG13 for slapstick action violence, some rude and suggestive humor including language.

IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
“Those three idiots are here!”

This is no reboot of the Hollywood action-adventure The Three Musketeers (2011), neither is it a remake of the Tamil comedy-drama 3 Idiots (2009). It is simply about three orphans who stick together like glue, who grow up into children in men’s bodies, and of course, who infamously have a level of intelligence close to naught. And they have been around since the late 1920s.

They charmed Americans back in the heyday with their dim-wittedness and playful moments of shocking violence. Over the decades, they have been reincarnated for a more modern audience. Now, in this latest Farrelly brothers effort, we see them in their newest reincarnation. For better or worse, but mostly for worse, they are ‘The Three Stooges’.

Peter and Bobby Farrelly, the directing duo who gave us movies like Dumb & Dumber (1994), There’s Something About Mary (1998), and most recently, Hall Pass (2011), are no stranger to comedies. The Three Stooges is extremely funny, no doubt, if only if your funny bone is wired to enjoy such humour. There is probably no other slapstick comedy this year that could rival that of The Three Stooges.

It makes you laugh out loud as if tomorrow never comes, very often like a fool, but without looking awkwardly foolish. If this is your greatest wish, you are in for a wholesome treat. You may have sensed my sarcasm, but truth be told, if you ever need to unwind completely, The Three Stooges is the perfect antidote to bad stress.

Those not familiar with the concept of The Three Stooges will be in for a shock. There is an insane amount of violence (a gigantic bell crashes into a nun, someone’s head being hit by a sledgehammer, and other assortments of eye-poking, face-slapping, armpit hair-pulling scenes), but they are done in the name of fun.

Kids would see it as a live-action cartoon, but to avoid any potential life-threatening imitation of the three characters, Larry (Sean Hayes), Curly (Will Sasso) and Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos), they ought to be best accompanied by a parent or guardian.

It is interesting to see how age is inversely proportional to one’s ability to suspend disbelief. Kids will collectively roar with laughter, while adults will cringe and attempt to laugh, if they will. Of course, adults crying (out of intense joy) like babies is a different matter altogether.

Plot takes a backseat in The Three Stooges. You don’t need to know anything about the story to enjoy this. Still, in all honesty, this is generally a bad movie. If all movies are like this, the world would be a much happier place. But then again, everybody grinning like fools as they come out of the theater is indeed a scary thought. Which is why I say a prayer of thanks that there are better movies out there, even if that means the world is a less cheerful place.

Verdict:  Makes you laugh out loud like a fool without looking foolish, and if that is what you ever wish for, you are in for a treat.

GRADE: F (3.5/10 or 1.5 stars)

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