Althouse: The Farrelly brothers are making a 3 Stooges movie.

November 5, 2008

The Farrelly brothers are making a 3 Stooges movie.

"Over the years such A-list Stoogephiles as Russell Crowe and Mel Gibson have been mentioned for the movie, but no casting has been announced."

Any ideas?

27 comments:

MadisonMan said...: Well, Geo...no, that would be too easy.

Jim Carrey leaps to mind.; 11/5/08, 8:38 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Any ideas?

No, it's hard to come up with anything stupider than making a movie about the Three Stooges.; 11/5/08, 8:41 AM
MadisonMan said...: I read it as not being a movie about the Three Stooges -- a biopic -- but rather a 3 stooges movie.; 11/5/08, 8:47 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: I read it as not being a movie about the Three Stooges -- a biopic -- but rather a 3 stooges movie.

Oh ok. In that case I nominate Doyle, downtownlad and Michael.; 11/5/08, 9:05 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I see we have a secondary question. What kind of a movie should it be: a biopic, a movie like one the 3 Stooges would make (with actors as Curly, Larry, and Moe), or some combination of the 2?; 11/5/08, 9:05 AM
john marzan said...: russell crowe as moe.

a bald jack black as curly.

sean penn as larry.; 11/5/08, 9:06 AM
bill said...: Whoopie Goldberg, Sandra Bernhard, Abe Vigoda; 11/5/08, 9:21 AM
Tibore said...: According to an IGN story, this is indeed not a biopic, but a "contemporary take".

"The Farrelly Brothers have been working on a modernization of the Stooges, "slapstick with heart" concept since the mid-90s. But it was their decision to focus on an origin story for Larry, Moe and Curly and thus introduce the three to a new generation that pushed the picture onto the fast track...

... Executive Producer Earl Benjamin is equally thrilled by the prospect of a contemporary take, "Now is the perfect time for The Three Stooges to return..."

Personally? I don't know... all I can think right now is "Blues Brothers 2000 anyone?".; 11/5/08, 9:23 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: What kind of a movie should it be: a biopic, a movie like one the 3 Stooges would make (with actors as Curly, Larry, and Moe), or some combination of the 2?

None of the above. Moe, Larry and Curly (God rest their souls) were comedic geniuses and any attempt to recreate their images would be heresey and an insult to slapstick.; 11/5/08, 9:24 AM
Widmerpool said...: Not to drag this off-topic, but I just don't get (and never have gotten) the Stooges. I am confident I could sit through their collected works and not laugh once. But then again, I've always felt that way about Jim Carrey and the Farrelly Brothers too.; 11/5/08, 9:28 AM
former law student said...: I like the "origins" idea.

Trying to duplicate the original Three Stooges will fail; the unease caused by a Stooges short featuring Shemp proves that, not to mention the bitter disappointment produced by watching the abysmal Curly Joe ones.

Moreover, making a Three Stooges movie automatically cuts out half your potential audience; few women see the humor of being poked in the eyeballs.

But, if you want to appeal to men only, and you want to avoid the peril of comparison, why not make a Seth Rogen-type movie stocked with adolescents? The Three Stooges: The Early Years -- that could be a winner.

And no waspy Russell Crowe or Mel Gibson. You need Jews to do the Stooges justice.; 11/5/08, 9:32 AM
Anonymous said...: I agree with the idea that it would be hard to duplicate the genius of the Three Stooges. Part of that rests in the short duration of each episode and the fact that for most of us it was something we could watch at home on TV. An hour and a half movie in a theater would string out the storyline, unlike the Marx Brothers who had more cerebral comedy.

But if anyone can make it work it'd be the Farrelly brothers. My wife would not watch it.; 11/5/08, 9:58 AM
KLDAVIS said...: NIAGARA FALLS!; 11/5/08, 10:02 AM
KLDAVIS said...: Woody Harrelson had a Larry Fine look in the Farrelly movie King Pin.; 11/5/08, 10:07 AM
Cedarford said...: Jackie Chan, as with Gibson, would have been outstanding Stooges if the movie had been made 15-20 years ago. Now - they are still capable of doing excellent action and physical comedy - and did great tribute to Stooge (and Harold Lloyd) comedy in past scenes, but honestly, a little long of tooth. Younger casting of Stooges, please!

If I was casting, though, I'd like an "adopted" Chinese or Japanese Stooge brother with great physical & comedic skills like Chan had. Or a Bollywood star. ( Good pandering and marketing ploy to the huge Asian market.)

Stooges also had some excellent "straight" men and women. (As did the Marx Bros with the perfect Madame DuMont). Russell Crowe would be a great "straight man" and if it was A-List casting, I think a surprising number of older actresses would love being in the role of a "stuffy matron" subject to various pratfalls and indignities.

(And let's not forget that with a "Negro in Charge", another approach might be an all-black tribute. Not with the predictable social lecturing leftist Hollywood types do where blacks must always be smarter and morally above their "white foils" in comedy, but "Barbershop"-style comedy where blacks are just normal folks in a neighborhood, plenty of idiots and fools running about having fun with everyday situations.); 11/5/08, 10:14 AM
Wince said...: Let's see, the Three Stooges helped carry a nation through an economic depression exacerbated and prolonged by bad liberal economic policies, and a World War brought on by emboldened enemies, didn't they?

Yea, the timing seems perfect.; 11/5/08, 10:21 AM
John Burgess said...: Until I was ten or so, I thought the Stooges were the epitome of comedy. Then I realized that they actually weren't very funny at all.

My suggestions is that the Farrelly brothers drop their pencils and move slowly away from their desks.

Unless, of course, they have some motive for throwing away the tens of millions in production costs. If that's the case, then I'll provide the address to which they can send my check.; 11/5/08, 10:36 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: And no waspy Russell Crowe or Mel Gibson. You need Jews to do the Stooges justice.

If Freder was here he'd call you a Cedarford for that remark.; 11/5/08, 10:43 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Until I was ten or so, I thought the Stooges were the epitome of comedy. Then I realized that they actually weren't very funny at all.

What?? Not funny? What are you some kind of communist?

Your Man card is hereby revoked.; 11/5/08, 10:44 AM
Trooper York said...: I think they should use young actors like they are doing with that Star Trek prequel. When they did the TV biopic about the Stooges with the guy from the Commish as Curly it really sucked. Just get unknown guys who vaguely resemble the Stooges and go from there.; 11/5/08, 10:50 AM
Trooper York said...: Oh and the casting of Gary Sinise in the Dr McCoy role is inspired casting. They should try something like that in the Stooges movie.; 11/5/08, 10:53 AM
Tibore said...: But Dr. McCoy was never in a 3 Stooges short.

(*Ducks*); 11/5/08, 10:55 AM
William said...: It breaks my heart to think that the Farrelly bros will make a movie about the 3 stooges and play it for cheap laughs. What's next a musical comedy version of Psycho? As someone who has attempted to plaster a ceiling after a late lunch at the Blarney Stone, I saw the nobility of the Stooges' struggle with the tyranny of inanimate object. We all of us struggle with poor eye hand coordination and attempt to bring, against all odds, a successful outcome to our labors. We can't go on. We must go on. To make fun of this existential battle is cheap and easy and shameless.; 11/5/08, 11:58 AM
Joe said...: make a movie about the 3 stooges and play it for cheap laughs

Huh? The 3 stooges were all about cheap laughs.

(I never liked them, even as a kid. For the "oldies", I much preferred Laurel & Hardy and Buster Keaton.); 11/5/08, 12:04 PM
MadisonMan said...: I never got Laurel and Hardy but I loved Abbott and Costello. The Three Stooges? Eh.; 11/5/08, 1:11 PM
blake said...: I never got the Stooges, but interestingly enough, when I was attending a western series at the local cinema, they threw in a western-themed Stooge short along with one of the shorter movies, and I actually laughed.

Part of it was that I was steeped in the western movie genre, so a lot of the jokes that wouldn't have worked at another time, did.

Part of it was being in the theater, too. The old WB cartoons--which are funny--are even funnier at the movies. Hell, one of the recent Disney flicks showed an old Goofy cartoon, and I actually chuckled a bit there, which would be a first for me for any Dsiney short.

I don't know the Stooges well enough to talk about who could play them well. When I think of modern references that worked for me, I think of Bruce Campbell in the Evil Dead series, especially Army of Darkness. Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon. Dr. Forrester (Trace Beaulieu) and TV's Frank (Conniff) on "Mystery Science Theater 3000".

I'd say they're all too old now, but the Stooges themselves were in their '30s and '40s--Moe in his '50s, I think--when they made their shorts. (And we must consider that any modern actor has probably had a much easier life and is in much better condition than they were.)

Jackie Chan is more of a Buster Keaton type.

Johnny Depp did a nice little homage to Chaplin in Benny and Joon, but he can do anything, right?; 11/5/08, 2:25 PM
Mark Daniels said...: I've always hated the Three Stooges and no amount of casting magic will make the formula funny.; 11/5/08, 8:47 PM