A Succinct Movie Review: The Two Stooges (Moe Toadsly & Larry Froggy) Give “The Three Stooges” Four Big, Side-Splitting Nyuks
Posted by: Toadsly
on Apr 14, 2012 
What do you get when you give the Farrelly brothers a modest $30 million budget, three third-tier stars, and a dumpster full of slapstick gags that are old enough to qualify for Social Security? Give up? Well, knucklehead, you get the greatest and latest Moe, Larry and Curly movie since “The Three Stooges Meet Hercules.” Wait! I know what you’re thinking! If those raunch-com kings, the Farrelly brothers (There’s Something About Mary), are involved, this film will be an adult-oriented, R-rated filth-fest! Not-to-worry! The Three Stooges is a family-friendly, PG-rated flick with no nudity or naughty dialogue. But there is plenty of violence…slapstick, make-believe, cartoony violence! The kind of over-the-top, impossibly silly violence that kids – and adults – have always enjoyed and rarely emulated. I laughed so hard during peeing baby gunfights and Larry David (playing a crotchety nun) disasters and lobster lunacy that I hearkened back to those halcyon days of my youth when America had a sense of humor, and we believed in ourselves: Few Americans scoffed when Jack Kennedy boasted we would win the “Space Race” and put a man on the Moon! The movie also, for some nostalgic reason, made me remember going outside on April days like today and picking wildflowers to give to my Mom.
If this movie has a flaw, it’s Sean Hayes being badly miscast as Larry. But Will Sasso (Curly) and Chris Diamantopoulos (Moe) are so good they ameliorate the casting blunder.
So, take it from Toadsly and Froggy (Froggy’s the one wearing the Larry wig), that The Three Stooges is well worth the price of admission. Put your brain in neutral, get lots of butter on your popcorn, and enjoy the wild ride!
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Toadsly, April 14, 2012 - 03:56 AM
Larry was always my favorite stooge, too. And my favorite gag was when Moe pulled out patches of his hair.
Yeah, I've also been wondering about Ciejai's lack of communicating.
Perhaps she's been away or busy.
I miss ROW, and most of the characters who commented there.
Keep the faith!
ceejai, April 14, 2012 - 01:38 PM
Oh, dear friends, some fun, some not-so-fun stuff going on. It's a busy time of year. I was sitting here thinking about how our gang has been scattered. Makes me feel rootless and disconnected.
I probably shouldn't admit this. I must have been a weird little kid because I never like The Stooges. All that hitting and eye-poking just gave my brother ideas.
We got dropped off at the Majestic or the East Town most weekends. My favorites were Zorro and Tarzan. Vincent Price scared the bejesus outta me but we never missed his movies.
Wonder what the p's were doing with all that private time?
Toadsly, April 14, 2012 - 02:30 PM
Never thought about the Three Stooges mainly appealing to boys. But now that I do, thanks to you, I agree.
I loved Tarzan movies and Vincent Price. It's a small world.
thescarletpumpernickel, April 14, 2012 - 08:45 PM
Truth be told, I was never too crazy about slapstick, even as a kid. However, my best friend in grade school loved the Stooges (they were shown every day on Pauk Shannon's "Adventure Time"). (Remember that, Toadsly?) Since my friend was cool, I pretended to like them also.
(Kind-of like The Allman Brothers Band and other Southern Rock. I would go along with my friends, but it was never my style.)
I *do* think that Larry Fine has one of those faces that naturally makes, people smile, like Marty Feldman, or Larry Storch.
(Larry Storch is (was?) an interesting character. A real good guy, apparently.)
Have a great weekend, guys!
ceejai, April 15, 2012 - 02:01 PM
As I got older I learned to appreciate sight gags and slapstick done with wit. Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Carole Lombard, Cary Grant, Lucille Ball-- their comic performances kill me. The Coen Brothers are masters of the sight gag-- think Intolerable Cruelty, Oh Brother, and A Serious Man.
Speaking of gags, don't miss Jimmy Fallon's send-up of Downton Abbey:
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jim...brilliant/
Toadsly, April 15, 2012 - 10:03 PM
I tried to open Fallon link but can't...will retry later.
"Grest Expectations" On "Masterpiece" the last two Sundays was first rate entertainment.
I've been sitting here, surfing, drinking cheap beer, waiting for one of the, oh, handful of friends (Toadsly, ciejai, I forget the others (if there are any others)) to show up. (Not Reg. He abandoned us. Bloody b*****d.)
I can only drink and stay awake so long...
"When America still had a sense of humor..."?
Gosh, Toadsly, at the moment I can't think of any other phrase that sums-up the - god ,what's the word that I'm looking for - tenor?, I dunno', of our country these days.
I will say, though, that Larry Fine was my favorite stooge, esp. when his smiling visage would show, surprising us, only to have a handful of hair pulled-out, or be j*p-slapped by Moe.
(Moe needs to be on antidepressants.)
b.t.w. - *Love* the "Hah-vahd" jersey.
Finally -ciejai - don't know where you're at, but I hope you're having fun.