The Three Stooges

2000

Action / Biography / Comedy / Drama

15
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 73% · 1 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 73% · 250 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.9/10 10 2259 2.3K

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Plot summary

A biography of the Three Stooges, in which their careers and rise to fame is shown throughout the eyes of their leader, Moe.

Director

James Frawley Photo
James Frawley

Top cast

Michael Gregory Photo
Michael Gregory as Studio suit
Marton Csokas Photo
Marton Csokas as Ted Healy
Joel Edgerton Photo
Joel Edgerton as Tom Cosgrove
Tamsin Carroll Photo
Tamsin Carroll as Brunette
720p.BluRay 720p.WEB 1080p.BluRay 1080p.WEB
806.83 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 27 min
Seeds 4
805.32 MB
1280*952
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 27 min
Seeds ...
1.46 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 27 min
Seeds 7
1.46 GB
1440*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 27 min
Seeds 5

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Bilko-3 6 / 10

Not Horrible. Pretty Good, Even.

The Stooges newsgroups were ablaze with postings that blasted the movie before even seeing it.Paul Ben-Victor did a very nice job as Moe. He was stronger in the Life sections then in the On Screen sections.Jon Kassir was very good as Shemp.Michael Chiklis did the best he could with the toughest job; Curly is by far the most famous and sharply defined character of the bunch. Chiklis's main failing is one he really can't help: during the "Take Off Your Hat" scene, he was attempting to look puzzled and frustrated, but his own particular eye-squint came across as angry and mean.Evan Handler was an absolutely wonderful Larry. As written, he is the most easy-going stooge, and only slightly hen-pecked by a blonde-bombshell of a wife. (Sidenote: Larry really was the only Stooge to have a babe for a wife, on whom he allegedly cheated frequently. *Larry*?!) Handler and Annalise Phillips, who played Mabel Fine, had a wonderful, complex rapport.And there was a nice rapport between the Stooges. The movie took the usual liberties with time and space, but for the most part it had a very good feel for the Stooges and what they went through to survive in comedy.Two bits of major criticism:1. Sloppy Motivation. Upon hearing of Ted Healey's death, Curly snaps, "Healy's not dead." Larry: "He's not dead?" Curly: (indicating Moe, with whom he's been having a tiff) "He's right here." Nobody, upon hearing the news that someone you knew and worked with just died violently, is going to maintain a snit (even if, according to this movie, Curly never worked with Healy, which he did in real life.)2. Bad Routines. The movie gives the impression that the Stooges, on their own after breaking with Ted Healy, went the Martin & Lewis nightclub route, winging it with no set routine. The Stooges had a complete, set act, which was meticulously timed and rehearsed. They *had* to, or they would have killed each other.
Reviewed by damfinobk 6 / 10

Way off the mark, but entertaining as a film

If one is looking for the TRUE story of The Three Stooges, one should read either the rare book "Moe Howard and the Three Stooges" or the more recent and easily available "The Complete Three Stooges Filmography." Or even Wikipedia The Three Stooges, you'll get the truth. This film relies heavily on anecdotal stories, and suffers from an over simplification of their story. This is a case where the real story is far more interesting than what is seen here.For instance, in the sequence where Jerome Howard shaves his head, in real life he did it of his own free will after being turned down initially by Ted Healy. Ted complained of Jerry not being right for them, so he left, and within an hour had shaved his face and head, and immediately created a new impression on their boss Healy. Jerry said "Don't I look girly?" to which Ted Healy thought was Curly, and the name stuck. In this film, Curly is basically forced into it by Larry and Moe, who have, in the film, already broken off from Ted Healy. Incidentally, the film skips over their film work with Healy at MGM.Even how they get signed by Columbia is pure fabrication. The truth was far more interesting, where both Moe and Larry had signed two separate contracts on the same day. Columbia happened to get to Moe before Universal got to Larry. And when The Three Stooges join Columbia in the film (1934), Harry Cohn says that Buster Keaton is working for him, but that didn't happen until 1939. And the pathos re: Curly is pretty heavy, even making him fall down while during "Half Wits Holiday" (1947), when in fact he had a serious stroke off stage before the final pie fight was filmed.However, if one could stomach pass such failing of fact for fiction, this film is pretty entertaining, and for someone who knows next to nothing about the Stooges, this may be factual enough for them. The performances are decent. Michael Chiklis's Curly is pretty decent and fun to watch. Paul Ben-Victor is also charismatic enough being the protagonist of a film. It's odd to see how Evan Handler's Larry is running around with his Stooge character's hair while out in public. Doubt Larry Fine walked around with his hair like a porcupine.It goes through the story quickly, and with good comic moments. The reenactments are okay, but nothing could replace the real thing. The moments of them on stage are better because they can't be compared to the real Stooges. The framework is decent, cutting back and forth to an older Moe Howard dealing with his new life, and the coming revival.Overall, enjoy it for what it is: a TV biopic. It's about a great story that should be told more often.
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