I'm what you would call a rare commodity: a female stooge fan. When I was a little girl, every Sunday night from 1989 to 1994 there was a stooge marathon on TV and my dad and I would have popcorn and ice cream and just laugh the night away. I always wondered if it was nostalgia that I loved the stooges so much, but I still as an adult get together with my dad and will bring over a stooge DVD and watch it with him, his wife and my fiancé and still laugh like if we were seeing it for the first time. There was something so special about these guys who went through anything just to make <more> people smile and you could tell that they loved doing so. They've inspired so many comedians today and a lot of people still consider them to be the top dogs of comedy, they really did create slap stick. So when I heard there was a movie coming out where the stooges were going to be in today's world, I just cringed, even more so when I learned it was the Farrelly brothers behind it, they're a hit or miss team. But in the surprise of 2012, we got a great comedy that I'm sure if the stooges were alive today would really enjoy and that's because of the lead actors who held this film together and had a lot of love and respect for these three knuckleheads.Ever since Moe, Larry, and Curly were dumped on the doorstep of the Sisters of Mercy Orphanage, they have wreaked havoc on the place and have left the nuns there scared. 25 years later, the trio is still living there and attempting to help out, and taking care of the kids as well. When they get wind the orphanage will be shutting down unless they can come up with $830,000 in 30 days, the trio volunteers to go out and try to raise the money somehow. A woman named Lydia is trying to kill her husband, and offers to pay the trio the money they need to take care of the job. However, they botch the job and leave the supposed husband in traction in the hospital. When they try to visit to finish the job, they are chased throughout the hospital and escape by jumping off the roof using a fire hose. They end up running into a now grown up Teddy, a boy they lost an adoptive family too, from the orphanage, who invites them to his anniversary party. Turns out that he's the actual husband they need to kill.What could've been a total flop turned into a very funny comedy and I think the reason it worked was because the obvious love that Sean Hayes, Will Sasso and Chris Diamantopoulos had for the stooges. The jokes were perfect and even directly taken from some shorts. The mannerisms were also on key and you almost believe it's the real Moe, Larry and Curly on screen. Even the side characters were really funny like SofÃa Vergara, Jane Lynch and Stephen Collins. I liked how we could see the stooges in an updated world where it's completely different from the 1930's. The film has a couple flaws like how they have this "heart to heart" with Moe which honestly was never apart of the stooge shorts. I can understand they have to have conflict in the movie, but it didn't work with the characters. Also there's an end credit scene where they explain the gags. I completely understand where they are coming from on this one, but really? After the film?! Why not before the film have a little disclaimer? It was lame and I'm sorry, it ruins the movie because it's like having James Cameron doing a scene after Titanic saying how the ship was CGI and none of the actors were actually hurt, it takes away from the film. Honestly, if you're too ignorant to explain to your children the difference between fantasy and film, you shouldn't be a parent. My dad explained all the gags to me when I was a kid and on top of that what kid can pick up a 20 pound hammer and hit someone in the head with it? OK, I end my rant on that. However, I think this film was a pleasant surprise and a pleasure to watch and I can't wait to add it to my stooge collection when it comes on blu ray.8/10 <less> |