What was it about the Three Stooges that I enjoyed as a child? Back then I laughed at the physical slapstick, the way they talked and the crazy predicaments they would always get into. As I watched this movie I had some of those old memories come back to me. Kudos to the Farrelly brothers, the directors, on capturing the look and feel of those episodes from my childhood. I was impressed with Chris Diamantopoulos (Wedding Daze, Under New Management), Sean Hayes (Will & Grace-TV, The Bucket List) and Will Sasso (Life as we Know it, Madtv-TV) as Moe, Larry and Curley. The three expertly handled the demanding physical comedy.  Interestingly enough, I was a bit uncomfortable with the constant hair pulling, eye poking and other abusive acts. The scenes I preferred had more goofiness to them, such as the salmon scene or the different office door signs. Why this movie did not work well was due to having 3 different stories in it. I understood it was trying to keep the same episodic pacing as the old show, but in a movie it did not gel well. The Three Stooges trying to raise money to save their childhood orphanage was the more real story, in my opinion. Though I did laugh at some of the scenes in the Jersey Shore story line. For me, the hire for murder story did not belong in this movie. Just because this movie had nyuck, nyuck, nyuck and “why coitainly” in it, did not necessarily mean it was a great reboot of the stooges. If you see this movie, stay for the credits.

2 1/4 stars

http://youtu.be/s1R4b04mxOs