The Farrelly brothers are unleashing a time capsule of slapstick comedy in the present day as a remake of The Three Stooges will be released in 2012.
Moe, Larry and Curly got their start in 1925 with a comedy vaudeville act named “Ted Healy and His Stooges.” Brothers Moe (Moses Harry Horwitz), Curly (Jerome Lester Horowitz) and Shemp (Samuel Horowitz) were behind The Three Stooge’s beginnings and were joined by other memorable characters throughout their history such as Larry (Louis Feinberg) Fine.
Now 86 years later another set of brothers is bringing them back to the big screen. The sometimes infamous and sometimes hilarious Farrelly Brothers are back.
Peter and Bobby Farrelly are known to moviegoers and NY VW shoppers for their comedies including:
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Dumb and Dumber
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Shallow Hal
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Stuck on You
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There’s Something about Mary
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Me, Myself & Irene
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The Heartbreak Kid
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Kingpin
Their films tend to be polarizing: people either love them or really, really hate them. All of their movies share elements of slapstick humor (along with some vulgar humor), so will they be able to take a classic and make it palpable to modern audiences? The Three Stooges is slapstick humor in its purest form, so how will the Farrelly brothers be able to translate what some would call old-fashioned comedy styles into something that will keep audiences entertained instead of just waxing nostalgic?
Though The Three Stooges may not be from the very dawn of slapstick, they are very much its forefathers, and physical injury and physical violence is part and parcel to what made their comedy such a success. Story lines merely served as a way to amplify the slaps, kicks, hits, pokes, falls, pies in the face, water over the head and general chaos that embodied the Stooges style of humor.
The Farrelly brothers are known for their physical humor, but they’ve never before tackled something as sacred as The Three Stooges. To be true to the comedy troupe, the essence of The Stooges has to be captured, the legendary voices maintained, and all of this has to be done without alienating moviegoers.
The film stars Chris Diamantopoulos, a TV actor from shows like 24, as Moe; Sean Hayes of Will & Grace fame as Curly; and Will Sasso, MadTV darling, as Curly. The trailer indicates the Farrelly brothers have stayed true to the Three Stooges’ roots as all three actors appear to fill their designated roles with excellent mimicry—to the point where it can be hoped audiences won’t be distracted too much by Diamantopoulos’ strange tan.
The short trailer makes it hard to determine just how much enjoyment audiences will get from this film, but many will appreciate seeing some reality stars like Snookie on the receiving end of the finger poke in the eye.
The film setup is three episodes that flow into one another. No official debut date has been set.
If you have no idea who The Three Stooges are, you may be able to find old episodes available on online classifieds.