Jason KingTHE THREE STOOGES: A Review
June 28th 2012 19:52
:
Thanks to Benny Boy for watching this one
I fell in hate with this film as soon as I heard about it and then I saw the trailer and fell in loathe - why resurrect something that is dead - surely we learnt from Jurassic Park and Pet Cemetery how that turns out. But bring on the studios to want to milk something that was funny a million year ago, as the world is obviously devoid of any talent and creativity in this current century. It was my preference to drink my own urine as opposed to see this film so I asked around and good old faithful of films I do not want to see, Ben McHolme, came through and went along to see this one. Which is a good thing - because as opposed to me ripping it a new one Ben, who is target audience, could probably appreciate this one a bit more than me. So thanks a bunch Benny Boy!!
As with every remake of a movie these days, there is a lot of pressure on the film makers to bring something new to the revival while also not disregarding the original. There are different ways to do this and "The Three Stooges" has done so by creating an exact replica of the original cult series. The lead characters- Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos), Larry (Sean Hayes) and Curly (Will Sasso) are as they were in their heyday, but brought into a modern setting. However, I must admit that I have watched minimal footage of the original "The Three Stooges" but have seen a handful of scenes from the show and grew up with my uncle and late Grandpa constantly referencing jokes and sound affects from the originals. Many of which I didn'tt even realise were derived from "The Three Stooges" until watching this remake.
Right at the start of the film I couldn't help but get the feeling that I would get bored of seeing The Stooges getting hurt and hurting other people. How could this go on for longer then an hour? However my concerns were alleviated when time and time again I found myself and my movie companion still genuinely laughing at each skit. It is so outrageous and over the top you can't help but laugh. It wasn't only the slapstick that created the humour, some of the lines were quite witty -just as they were in old Stooges films/shorts. It was predictable and one dimensional, however the modern-day pop culture references to Twitter, iPhones and the Kardashians were a welcome addition from the original Stooges. The Original Stooges was a timeless classic making little reference to religion or popular jokes of the time that may not be understood in the years to come. However this movie has already received some criticism for its obvious jabs at Catholicism; such as giving the role of Mother Superior to Larry David who is an outspoken anti-religion advocate. However in my opinion I found these anti-religion references to be comical, as well as few and far between.
If I can make one recommendation to you before heading into this movie: Please switch off your logic and go into this movie expecting nothing more then what you came to expect from the original Three Stooges. The plotline is cliched, the characters do not grow and everything that happens is so unrealistic and over the top. For example the character of Moe is highly aggressive, with a short temper and clearly in need of some form of counselling. If the Stooges world was real he would be in jail for a double murder. But in the film he is merely a laughable antagonist. Therefore if you came to this film to see an Oscar winning showcase- you deserve your disappointment.
The actors who play the Stooges do an excellent job of portraying every nuance, sound and movement of the originals. It was first thought that Jim Carrey would play Curly, which would have been very interesting to see but regardless the casting was excellent. However I did not like how Curly was practically portrayed as a special needs person- constantly fidgeting with his hands and other poignant traits of a person with autism. The filming was also great, speeding up frames and really giving it that "olden day look" while at the same time keeping it modern.
I know not everyone will like this movie- many people will hate it and it will not last long in cinemas. However if you are happy to turn your mind off for 90 minutes and just enjoy older style slapstick humour, then you will enjoy it- in fact you may just love it. If you loved the original Stooges I am confident you will be fond of the nostalgia trip and the attention to detail these three new stooges have put towards a respectful and accurate portrayal. Even I got nostalgic remembering when my grandpa would say "gnuck, gnuck, gnuck" or "I'm a victim of circumsta-y-nce." For this reason it is likely that the majority of the audience will be grandparents going on a trip down memory lane- with or without their grandchildren. My guess would be that younger audience members may start to lose interest, however for the males their decreasing attention may be redeemed thanks to popular actress Sofia Vergara (Modern Family) appearances in many revealing outfits.
I give The Three Stooges a 6/10 as it is something that Stooges fans should make an effort to see and if you are not happy to pay $18 to see it, which is fair enough, at least hire it on DVD when it is released. However I give it a bonus mark due to the fact that you get to see a certain, extremely annoying, reality show cast get punched and slapped; making it a 7/10 for me. Three Stooges was released yesterday!
As with every remake of a movie these days, there is a lot of pressure on the film makers to bring something new to the revival while also not disregarding the original. There are different ways to do this and "The Three Stooges" has done so by creating an exact replica of the original cult series. The lead characters- Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos), Larry (Sean Hayes) and Curly (Will Sasso) are as they were in their heyday, but brought into a modern setting. However, I must admit that I have watched minimal footage of the original "The Three Stooges" but have seen a handful of scenes from the show and grew up with my uncle and late Grandpa constantly referencing jokes and sound affects from the originals. Many of which I didn'tt even realise were derived from "The Three Stooges" until watching this remake.
Right at the start of the film I couldn't help but get the feeling that I would get bored of seeing The Stooges getting hurt and hurting other people. How could this go on for longer then an hour? However my concerns were alleviated when time and time again I found myself and my movie companion still genuinely laughing at each skit. It is so outrageous and over the top you can't help but laugh. It wasn't only the slapstick that created the humour, some of the lines were quite witty -just as they were in old Stooges films/shorts. It was predictable and one dimensional, however the modern-day pop culture references to Twitter, iPhones and the Kardashians were a welcome addition from the original Stooges. The Original Stooges was a timeless classic making little reference to religion or popular jokes of the time that may not be understood in the years to come. However this movie has already received some criticism for its obvious jabs at Catholicism; such as giving the role of Mother Superior to Larry David who is an outspoken anti-religion advocate. However in my opinion I found these anti-religion references to be comical, as well as few and far between.
If I can make one recommendation to you before heading into this movie: Please switch off your logic and go into this movie expecting nothing more then what you came to expect from the original Three Stooges. The plotline is cliched, the characters do not grow and everything that happens is so unrealistic and over the top. For example the character of Moe is highly aggressive, with a short temper and clearly in need of some form of counselling. If the Stooges world was real he would be in jail for a double murder. But in the film he is merely a laughable antagonist. Therefore if you came to this film to see an Oscar winning showcase- you deserve your disappointment.
The actors who play the Stooges do an excellent job of portraying every nuance, sound and movement of the originals. It was first thought that Jim Carrey would play Curly, which would have been very interesting to see but regardless the casting was excellent. However I did not like how Curly was practically portrayed as a special needs person- constantly fidgeting with his hands and other poignant traits of a person with autism. The filming was also great, speeding up frames and really giving it that "olden day look" while at the same time keeping it modern.
I know not everyone will like this movie- many people will hate it and it will not last long in cinemas. However if you are happy to turn your mind off for 90 minutes and just enjoy older style slapstick humour, then you will enjoy it- in fact you may just love it. If you loved the original Stooges I am confident you will be fond of the nostalgia trip and the attention to detail these three new stooges have put towards a respectful and accurate portrayal. Even I got nostalgic remembering when my grandpa would say "gnuck, gnuck, gnuck" or "I'm a victim of circumsta-y-nce." For this reason it is likely that the majority of the audience will be grandparents going on a trip down memory lane- with or without their grandchildren. My guess would be that younger audience members may start to lose interest, however for the males their decreasing attention may be redeemed thanks to popular actress Sofia Vergara (Modern Family) appearances in many revealing outfits.
I give The Three Stooges a 6/10 as it is something that Stooges fans should make an effort to see and if you are not happy to pay $18 to see it, which is fair enough, at least hire it on DVD when it is released. However I give it a bonus mark due to the fact that you get to see a certain, extremely annoying, reality show cast get punched and slapped; making it a 7/10 for me. Three Stooges was released yesterday!
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