The Stooge legacy exists apart from time itself – I loved them when I was nine for the eye-pokes; I loved them in later life for the knowing humor (and the eye-pokes). I loved them even though they were from a long gone era. And most people I know hold the Stooges in the same high esteem I do. Among goofy guys like me, they are the high priests. They are sacred cows.
There is a great risk in taking on a sacred cow. If nothing else, I admire the courage of the Farrelly brothers, goofy guys themselves, who would know the risks all too well. Die-hard Stooge fans might even wish for the failure of the project, if nothing else but to affirm the irreplaceable nature of the Stooges.
All that said, I admit I approached the movie skeptically. In the end, I was won over. The movie's homage to the Stooges is in getting them right. All of the slapstick humor is there; all of the wisecracks are there. These Stooges capture the craziness and the randomness of the original Stooges without trying too hard to "interpret the role" or any such silliness. It's respectful of the original.
For me, once I was comfortable with these guys as the Stooges, the fun was in seeing the Stooges in the present day, where smacking someone over the head with a sledgehammer is even less acceptable than it was in the 1930's. They goof on all sorts of present day annoyances- Jersey Shore, the Kardashians, just like they goofed on high society and other annoyances of their own time.
The bottom line: I was laughing the whole time. If you're a Stooges fan, there's a lot to like – just give the movie a chance.
There is a great risk in taking on a sacred cow. If nothing else, I admire the courage of the Farrelly brothers, goofy guys themselves, who would know the risks all too well. Die-hard Stooge fans might even wish for the failure of the project, if nothing else but to affirm the irreplaceable nature of the Stooges.
All that said, I admit I approached the movie skeptically. In the end, I was won over. The movie's homage to the Stooges is in getting them right. All of the slapstick humor is there; all of the wisecracks are there. These Stooges capture the craziness and the randomness of the original Stooges without trying too hard to "interpret the role" or any such silliness. It's respectful of the original.
For me, once I was comfortable with these guys as the Stooges, the fun was in seeing the Stooges in the present day, where smacking someone over the head with a sledgehammer is even less acceptable than it was in the 1930's. They goof on all sorts of present day annoyances- Jersey Shore, the Kardashians, just like they goofed on high society and other annoyances of their own time.
The bottom line: I was laughing the whole time. If you're a Stooges fan, there's a lot to like – just give the movie a chance.