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?