Yes, No, Maybe So: "The Three Stooges"

Andreas here. After over a decade in development, the Farrelly Brothers' tribute to their slapstick idols became its own sad punchline, swapping out the bizarro dream team of Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Jim Carrey for a more conventional, less A-listy trio. Revivals of decades-old franchises always make me nervous, especially when those franchises relied on specific performers with very specific talents. But let's give the trailer a look, shall we?

YES...

 

• I've been a Stooges fan since early childhood. I'm pleasantly surprised to see that the Farrellys seem to get their style of comedy... by which I mean nonstop, mean-spirited violence augmented by cartoonish sound effects. They're clearly not afraid to go as lowbrow as possible to replicate it.
• The actors subbing in for the long-dead Stooges do some pretty accurate impersonations, especially Mad TV veteran Will Sasso as the blithely animalistic Curly...

"No"s "Maybe So"s and the trailer after the jump.

NO...

• ...but that said, an impersonation is still an impersonation. How well will these secondhand performances fare over 90 minutes and change?
• Any fidelity to the Stooges' schtick doesn't change the fact that these guys aren't the Stooges, who—love them or hate them—turned wanton destruction into a working-class art form. Every gag in the trailer screams "pale imitation!"
• Even by the standards of crass comedies, this looks like a shoddy, piecemeal attempt to coast along on brand recognition. Do the once-mighty Farrellys have even a wisp of inspiration left in them?
• That bane of remakes/revivals/reimaginations: smirking references to 21st century pop culture. Snooki and the iPhone guarantee that Stooges will be dated as soon as it's released.

MAYBE SO...

 

• The Stooges' comic sensibility is (to put it mildly) not for everyone. The trailer suggests that this movie is a fans-only affair... but fans could be turned off by the contemporization and lack of real-live Stooges. Who'll want to see this?
• How can this concept possibly sustain a feature-length film, even an episodic one? Does it have a shot at being an enjoyable viewing expeience?

I'm a pretty strong NO, punctuated by a tiny glimmer of hope.  How about you? Are you fond of Moe, Larry, and Curly's over-the-top antics or were you in childhood? If so, are you dying to see them restaged by the Farrelly Brothers?

Comments

[Deborah Lipp]

I'm not the audience for this. It could be high art, the finest of all possible wonders of fineness, and I'd still be a NO.

[Dean]

How dare you insinuate the iPhone will not always be at the forefront of public consciousness!

[Evan]

Ew. No.

And saddest of all-- Jennifer Hudson? Why?!

[Ted B]

Rather than try...unsuccessfully...to re-create the Three Stooges, I thought it would have been more interesting to explore how the Three Stooges made their magic and kept their stage persona separate from their off-screen lives...like creating Moe Howard's magic haircut. One flick of a comb and the Moe-the-Stooge disappeared in plain-sight. To see how they worked on their timing, how they staged acts of apparent mayhem without killing each other or their less-adroit co-stars. To take some classic schtick and deconstruct it and let us peak behind the curtain.

[Tory Smith]

Ok....I'm was totally surprised at this trailer. I thought it was going to be about their true lives. I had NO CLUE it was a modern Stooges in a freaking useless comedy! Like what?! I was thinking biopic. YEAH!!! Then I saw this...UGH. So not excited AT ALL. And highly disappointed that they made the movie in this way. I agree with Ted B. That description of the film would have been something to see. This is something to ignore all together. And the talents of the actors are indeed misused for adolescent comedy.

[Amir]

No matter how good the trailer is, the final moment when the Jersey Shore kids show up would have been the deal breaker for me. Big NO!

[Erik Anderson]

That trailer is one of the worst things I've ever seen in my life. Until Snookie gets jabbed in the eyes, then it was one of the best.

[Bill_the_Bear]

OMG!! This makes "Jack and Jill" look like "Certified Copy!"

I remember having watched the real Three Stooges on TV when I was little...but does anybody who wasn't alive during some part of the Eisenhower administration really know who they are?

[Amir]

OMG!! This makes "Jack and Jill" look like "Certified Copy!"

Made my day. :D

[caro]

if the movie is as awful as the trailer:you can named now THE 3 STROOGES will win the Razzies for the 3 next years

i forgot :it's a big NO

[Cristhian]

I think you just tainted your blog by posting a still with Snooki in it.There should be an internet law that her made up whatever name should not be mentioned in the vicinity of the likes of Tilda Swinton and Pedro Almodovar.

[Evan]

This trailer reminds me that period in the 90s where they kept unnecessarily remaking old television shows as films... like that Sgt. Bilko movie. *shudder*

[Lalaland]

The best acting in that trailer was Sammi reading hardcover.