The Three Stooges is a 2012 slapstick comedy film based on the early to mid-20th century shorts by the comedic trio The Three Stooges. The movie was produced, written and directed by the Farrelly brothers and co-written by Mike Cerrone, and stars Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, and Chris Diamantopoulos, recreating the eponymous characters played by Larry Fine, Curly Howard, and Moe Howard. The film's story places the Stooges in a modern setting.

After over a decade of casting problems, principal photography took place from May to July 2011. The film was released on April 13, 2012, and is rated PG in the US (for slapstick action violence, some rude and suggestive humor including language) by the MPAA rating system. The film has been criticized for anti-Catholicism.^[4]

Plot[link]

The film is composed of three acts, which are referred to as episodes.

[edit] Act/Episode 1: More Orphan Than Not

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. Out of desperation, when a prospective couple comes to adopt, they bring out the trio as being the only three available, eventually adding a fourth when another boy, Teddy, enters the picture. The couple decides to pick Moe, but when he requests Larry and Curly join him, he is dropped back off at the orphanage, and they choose Teddy instead. 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 that 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.

[edit] Act/Episode 2: The Bananas Split

A subplot involves a woman named Lydia, who wants to kill her husband so she can be with her lover and inherit his considerable fortune. She 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 (actually Lydia's lover) 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 from the orphanage, who invites them to his anniversary party. It turns out that Lydia is Teddy's wife. Their next scheme for raising the money has them selling farm raised salmon, with them scattering salmon on a golf range and watering them like produce. The trio are chased off the golf course and hide somewhere, where they have a huge argument and slapstick fight, and Larry and Curly leave. After they do so, it turns out they were all on stage in front of an audition crew, who select Moe to be the newest cast member of Jersey Shore as "Dyna-Moe".

[edit] Final Act/Episode: No Moe Mister Nice Guy

Larry and Curly are getting along well without Moe but decide to go find him, first returning to the orphanage, where they find out a girl named Murph is very sick, but has not been taken to the hospital because the orphanage has no medical insurance. It turns out that no one will insure the orphanage due to the trio's numerous accidents and injuries, and the $830,000 is needed in order to have it reinstated.

They finally go to the set of Jersey Shore to reunite with Moe, and they all head to the anniversary party where they appear to thwart the murder plot, only to discover Teddy's adoptive father, a powerful attorney, was the real mastermind. He married into the money and was incensed to find out the money was left to Teddy and not him when Teddy's mother died years earlier. They are taken for a ride, but the car winds up in the water when Curly's pet rat distracts them; then, they all escape when Curly passes gas, and they light it with "waterproof, strike-anywhere matches" they had, causing enough of an explosion to blow out the windows.

Once they are back on land, Lydia, her lover, and Teddy's adoptive dad are arrested, and Teddy thanks the trio for saving him. When they request the $830K, he turns them down, stating he refuses to help the same orphanage that gave him up to a father that almost tried to kill him, among other things over the years.

Three months later, the trio return to the now-condemned orphanage, but as they start crying for feeling like failures, they hear kids laughing and swimming and such. When they investigate, they find out a whole brand new orphanage was built next door, complete with a swimming pool and tennis court.

They soon learn that the money Moe made from Jersey Shore has helped pay off the $830K and, along with contributions from the cast of Jersey Shore, help to put the down payment on the new place. The executive that got Moe on Jersey Shore has also offered the entire trio a contract for a new show called "Nuns vs Nitwits". Murph is revealed to be perfectly fine, her illness due to too much iron in the water (which Larry had always suspected, yet no one listened to him), and that she, along with brothers Peezer and Weezer (the latter thought to have been lost forever to a foster home), will be adopted by Teddy and his new wife. In the end, after causing one more incident, the trio run away and bounce off trampolines out of the orphanage onto horses, where they ride off away from the orphanage, thus ending the film.

[edit] Postscript Epilogue

A postscript consists of two young, handsome, muscular actors playing the Farrelly brothers, explaining that the stunts were all done by professionals, showing the foam rubber props used in the film for the trio to hit one another, demonstrating the fake eye-poke trick (to the temples), and advising children to not try any of the stunts at home.

Cast[link]

• Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe, the short-tempered, bossy, aggressive leader of the Stooges.
  • Skyler Gisondo as young Moe
• Sean Hayes as Larry, the smartest, pun-making member of the Stooges.
  • Lance Chantiles-Wertz as young Larry
• Will Sasso as Curly, the dim-witted, silly member of the Stooges.
  • Robert Capron as young Curly
• Jane Lynch as Mother Superior, a nun who runs the orphanage the trio grew up in^[5].
• Larry David as Sister Mary-Mengele, a nun who runs the orphanage, and has a personal hatred for the trio^[6].
• Brian Doyle-Murray as Monsignor Ratliffe, a head Catholic priest who authorizes the orphanage's shutdown.
• Sofía Vergara as Lydia, who wants to exploit the Stooges.
• Jennifer Hudson as Sister Rosemary^[7].
• Lin Shaye as Nursery Nurse.
• Caitlin Colford as Nun.
• Stephen Collins as Mr. Harter, the trio's prospective adopted father^[2].
• Carly Craig as Mrs. Harter, the trio's prospective adopted mother^[8].
• Craig Bierko as Mac, "one of the heavies trying to exploit the Stooges"^[9].
• Kirby Heyborne as Teddy^[10].
• Isaiah Mustafa as Moe's Hip Executive.
• Dwight Howard as Himself.
• Kate Upton as Sister Bernice.
• Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi as Herself.
• Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino as Himself.
• Jennifer "JWoww" Farley as Herself.
• Ronnie Ortiz-Magro as Himself.
• Paul "Pauly D" DelVecchio as Himself.
• Samantha Giancola as Herself.
• Antonio Sabàto, Jr. as Bobby.

Production[link]

Development and writing[link]

Conundrum Entertainment's Bradley Thomas became attached to The Three Stooges around 2000 with Columbia Pictures. In March 2001, Warner Bros. bought the feature rights from C3 Entertainment and Peter and Bobby Farrelly became involved.^[11] They along with co-writer Mike Cerrone completed the script in mid-to-late 2002 and began shopping it. In 2004, with no talent being attached to the project, their rights expired and it was acquired by First Look Studios and C3 Entertainment.^[12] In November 2008, MGM boss Mary Parent picked up The Farrelly's Warner Bros. scripts and the rights from C3 Entertainment, and was given a budget of $40 million with a release date of November 20, 2009.^[12] In March 2009, after struggling with casting delays, the release date was pushed to 2010, but the filmmakers still did not have a cast set.^[12] In November 2010, MGM filed bankruptcy and the following month the project was taken over by 20th Century Fox in hopes to have released the film in 2011.^[12][13]

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 with a stand-alone story, each being 27 minutes long.^[14] The Farrellys aimed to receive a PG (Parental Guidance) rating from the MPAA, while still incorporating physical comedy. 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."^[15]

Casting[link]

In March 2009, Benicio del Toro was in talks to play the lead role of Moe Howard,^[16] but then later dropped out. He was replaced by Chris Diamantopoulos in April 2011.^[17] Hank Azaria was considered for the part.^[15][18] Sean Penn was already set to play Larry Fine but dropped out to concentrate on his charitable efforts in Haiti.^[18] Sean Hayes was chosen to play Larry. Jim Carrey was set to play Curly Howard and gained 40 pounds for the role but ultimately dropped out because of not wanting to endanger his health gaining 60 to 70 pounds.^[18][19] The role went to Will Sasso.^[20] Johnny Knoxville, Andy Samberg and Shane Jacobson were all on the short list to play Moe, Larry and Curly, respectively. Bill Chott also auditioned for the role of Curly.^[21]

In December 2010, Richard Jenkins was in talks to play Mother Superior in the film.^[12] In February 2011, Cher was considered^[18] but Jane Lynch secured the role.^[5] Larry David plays another nun in the film called Mother Mengele.^[6] Sofía Vergara was cast as Lydia. Stephen Collins was cast as Mr. Harter^[2] and Carly Craig as his wife, Mrs. Harter.^[8] The cast of Jersey Shore (Nicole Polizzi, Michael Sorrentino, Paul DelVechhio, Jennifer Farley, and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro) have cameos in the film.^[22][23]

Filming[link]

On a reported budget of $30 million,^[2] principal photography started on May 9, 2011, in downtown Atlanta, Georgia and wrapped on July 20, 2011.^[23][24] Scenes were shot at the Fairlie-Poplar Historic District around 5 Points Sports Building on the corner of Peachtree St., Edgewood Ave., and Decatur St. on the evening and night of May 13 and wrapped the next day.^[24] On May 26, filming took place at Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta.^[2] Other locations included Piedmont Park and Colony Square.^[25] In June, production moved to Cartersville and shot scenes near Woodland High School.^[26] After the cast of the Jersey Shore arrived on July 18, 2011, they shot scenes at the Atlanta Civic Center.^[22] During the last two days of filming, scenes were shot at an Ansley Park home.^[25] Filming concluded on July 22, 2011, at the Miami Seaquarium, a popular marine life park in Florida, capturing a scene in their dolphin tank.^[27]

References to original films[link]

Though much of The Three Stooges consists of routines that are a pastiche of the Stooges, certain bits are lifted directly from the original Stooge films:

• While repairing the church bell, when Moe smacks Larry, whose neck jerks to one side (crying "oh, my neck!"), he then slaps Larry's head the opposite direction, asking him "how's it feel now?" This was borrowed from Three Little Beers.
• Larry wearing a sandwich board at the beginning on Act/Episode 2 originated from They Stooge to Conga and its remake, Listen, Judge.
• The shot where the Stooges are knocked over the fence and land head first originated from Busy Buddies.
• The final scene when the Stooges ride away on horses appeared in A Pain in the Pullman (in the original film, they rode bulls).

In addition, all sound effects were lifted directly from the original Columbia Stooge shorts films for authenticity.

Appearance on WWE Raw[link]

Diamantopoulos, Hayes, and Sasso appeared in character on Wrestling show WWE Raw to promote the movie on April 9, 2012. They acted in several scenes, the first with Santino Marella, before later taking to the ring where they were booed by a somewhat perplexed crowd before Sasso, dressed as Hulk Hogan, received a chokeslam by Kane.^[28]

Reception[link]

Critical reception[link]

Reviews for The Three Stooges have been mostly mixed. The critics consensus on Rotten tomotoes is While nowhere near as painful as it could have been, The Three Stooges fails to add fresh laughs to the Stooges' inestimable cinematic legacy. It currently holds a 47% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 105 reviews, and an average rating of 5.3/10. Among the Top Critics, it holds a rating of 50%, based on 26 reviews. ^[29]. It also has a score of 56 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews"^[30] Despite the mixed reviews, Diamantopoulos, Hayes, and Sasso received acclaim for their performances of Moe, Larry, and Curly from both critics and fans.^[31]

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter described it as "[A] funny, good-hearted resuscitation of Hollywood's beloved lowbrow lunkheads",^[31] and Manohla Dargis of The New York Times similarly characterly enjoyable paean to Moe, Larry and Curly and the art of the eye poke."^[32] Spill.com gave the movie a fairly good review, insisting that the movie is great for families, and hardcore Stooge-fans will not be disappointed. They also went on to praise the actors for their portrayal of the Stooges, saying the likeness was uncanny, and perhaps even Oscar-worthy. Roger Ebert gave the movie 2½ out of 4 stars, stating "The Farrelly brothers have made probably the best Three Stooges movie it's possible to make in 2012, and perhaps ever since the Stooges stopped making them themselves".

Betsy Sherman of The Boston Phoenix gave it 3 out of 4 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)".^[33]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine gave it 2 stars out of 4, commenting that "the movie is a mixed bag. The gags don't blossom with repetition. The Stooges were always better in short doses. And 90 minutes of PG nyuk-nyuk-nyuk can seem like an eternity. For the Farrellys, The Three Stooges is a labor of love. For non-believers, it's merely a labor." Travers also praised the cast, stating "The actors deserve a full-throated woo-woo-woo!" adding that "Hayes, Sasso and Diamantopoulos do themselves and the Stooges proud."^[34]

Bill Wine of KYW Newsradio 1060 in Philadelphia commented that "no one's going to confuse The Three Stooges with a transcendent movie anytime soon, but the Farrellys do capture and reproduce the anarchic spirit and uninhibited essence of the Stooges — soitenly and poifectly, as the Stooges would put it — and remind us why they had such a hold on some of us in decades past. The three leads are expert mimics — especially Hayes...they acquit themselves admirably..."^[35]

Box office[link]

The Three Stooges had a solid opening weekend, earning $17.1 million and debuting second behind The Hunger Games.^[36] As of May 31, 2012, the film has grossed $42,477,431 in the United States and Canada, surpassing its budget.

Criticism for anti-Catholicism[link]

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League anti-defamation organization, released a statement condemning the movie for its disrespectful portrayal of Catholics, specifically nuns.^[4] Donohue claims that the movie is evidence of increasing hostility towards religion and Catholics in Hollywood, commenting "In the 1950s, Hollywood generally avoided crude fare and was respectful of religion. Today, it specializes in crudity and trashes Christianity, especially Catholicism. Donohue added that the movie "is not just another remake: it is a cultural marker of sociological significance, and what it says about the way we’ve changed is not encouraging."^[4]

Donohue pinpoints one scene The film pushes the envelope with its portrayals of two unusual nuns portrayed by the swimsuit model Kate Upton, and Curb Your Enthusiasm creator Larry David. Both are potential causes for offense for different reasons as MovieFone reports:

"In Stooges, David portrays Sister Mary-Mengele. The name is a nod to the late Nazi Josef Mengele, an SS Officer who decided prisoners' fates at Auschwitz. As for Upton, it's not so much her character's name — Sister Bernice — as it is her attire. During one scene, the SI swimsuit model dons a very revealing bikini along with a large rosary around her neck."

^[37]

Home media[link]

The film will be released on DVD and Blu Ray on July 17, 2012.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• The Three Stooges at the Internet Movie Database
• The Three Stooges at AllRovi
• The Three Stooges at Box Office Mojo
• The Three Stooges at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Three Stooges at Metacritic
• The Three Stooges at The Numbers