Film: The Three Stooges (2012)

Thoughts: Even though it isn't a particularly good film, you have to give credit where its due, and The Three Stooges earns some serious points for dedication. The idea and drive to pull this film off had to have come from a place of love, and the end result at least has its heart in the right plus. The level physicality on display is painful to behold, and as such, earns some honest laughs and my shrugging recommendation.

From imdb:
"Left on the doorstep of an orphanage run by nuns, newborns Moe, Larry and Curly grow up finger-poking, nyuk-nyuk-nyuking and woo-woo-wooing their way to uncharted levels of knuckleheaded misadventure. Now their childhood home may have to close due to financial difficulties. But Larry, Curly and Moe, employed as the foster home's inept maintenance men, are determined to come to the rescue. Only The Three Stooges could become embroiled in an oddball murder plot - while stumbling into starring roles in a phenomenally successful TV reality show."

The film is carved into if I remember correctly 3 separate sections, dealing effectively with the 3 act structure of most standard Hollywood films. All they serve though, is a stage for which to cast the three leads (played astonishingly well by Sean Hayes, Will Sasso and Chris Diamantopoulos) into situations where they can hurt one another or those unfortunate souls who are nearby. Fans of strong physical comedy should find their antics really quite extraordinary, with the boys committing wholeheartedly to the chaos. Of course, the story itself is ridiculous, and useful only in keeping things moving forward. All the bit players make their presence felt, with the like of Sofia Vergara, Jane Lynch and Jennifer Hudson keeping things fresh and funny. My personal favourites though were Larry David as an overly Jewish sounding nun who is constantly at the mercy of the lovable lunks, and Craig Bierko as an unfortunate conniving love-rat connected to Sofia Vergara.

The stunts are what make this film, and they are spectacular. Eye gouging, head bonking and toe stomping are all present and accounted for, but there are also well timed and choreographed sequences of mayhem littered throughout. I really loved the scene involving Craig Bierko in a full-body cast, the Three Stooges, and a stick of dynamite. Awesome stuff. The real issue I had though, was that despite the film's brisk runtime (92min) there was still a feeling of a drop inbetween the various set-ups and sequences- despite there being humour laced throughout even the more static moments. Honestly, it's mostly when our three intrepid heroes are offscreen that you truly feel it, because seriously, they really do commit to the roles.

Check it out if you like fairly crude and infantile humour, or wacky physical comedy. I recommend it. Really, I do.

3.5/5