My, how the mighty have fallen. Written and directed by The Farrelly Brothers - who were behind some modern comedy classics like There’s Something About Mary and Dumb & Dumber - the siblings would seem like a perfect fit for bringing the famous 1940s slapstickers into the modern day. Originally set to star Jim Carrey, Benicio Del Toro and Sean Penn, they obviously got one look at the script and bailed as quickly as humanly possible. In their place we have relative unknowns, with Sean Hayes (Larry), Will Sasso (Curly) and Chris Diamantopoulos (Moe) gurning with a manic level of energy, but completely unable to save the movie as it sinks around them.
The plot (if you’re feeling generous enough to call it that) finds the three hapless wonders still in the orphanage they were abandoned at some 30 years ago. After they get word that it’s about to be foreclosed, they realise that the only way to save it is to raise the required $840,000. So they set off to the big city with wide eyes, big hopes and no plans, and … that’s pretty much it.
The Three Stooges wasn't exactly really plot heavy to begin with, relying more on their vaudeville act of eye pokes and head bonks to get the laughs flowing. And while the three leads go at these scenes of perfectly choreographed violence with relish, it falls painfully flat - it doesn’t help that the story they’ve been dropped into is almost completely void of actual humour. It’s almost funny just how unfunny it is.
Surrounding the Stooges is an oddly picked supporting cast, including Jane Lynch, Sofia Vergara, Larry David, Kate Upton, Jennifer Hudson and many more, and it’s not amiss to say that this movie is probably the worst thing they’ve ever been involved with. And when that includes the cast of Jersey Shore, who also make a painfully long appearance, you know you’ve got something truly terrible on your hands. Definitely one of the worst movies of 2012.
Review by Rory Cashin