I have long been a fan of the Farrelly Brothers. I think they are excellent comedy directors. It seems their attempt to bring back The Three Stooges has been in development for ages. At various stages they had some very famous names attached. However it seems they ended up with some lesser known actors which is not a bad thing.
As far as comedy goes I am more of a verbal comedy fan than a visual comedy fan. That is not to say I hate visual comedy but I prefer the spoken word or clever line. So while this film is mostly visual comedy and slapstick I found myself enjoying it more than I expected. The Farrelly Brothers and their co-writer Mike Cerrone have come up with some excellent comedic set pieces that are really funny. Most of the time you know where they are going you don't mind as they are still funny. What I liked most was how respectful they are of the original Three Stooges especially in structure. The Farrelly Brothers have divided the film into three sections, so it plays like three shorter films. Much like the original Stooges films were played. The only element that seems a bit out of place was the inclusion of the 'Jersey Shore' TV series as a plot element. It felt a bit tacky.
Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos and Will Sasso not only look remarkably like their older counterparts but they work really well as a comedy team. You would think that they were the original Stooges come back to life. The Farrelly Brothers have also gotten some wonderful supporting actors. Jane Lynch and Jennifer Hudson mostly play straight to Stooges antics but they are very good. The best performance though is by Larry David. He is hilarious as one of the nuns at the orphanage. He is essentially playing the female version of himself but it is incredibly funny.
It may not come across as terribly sophisticated humour and is mostly aimed at kids, but this is still an excellent comedy.
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