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Staying ruthlessly faithful to the source of your material can be a double edged sword in film making. If the faithfulness is borne from a fear of not angering a worldwide fanbase it can impede creativity, whereas if it comes from a genuine love that the film makers have for the material, you get something that is genuine and heart felt. The Farrelly Bros seem to struggle to find that balance in their new adaptation of The Three Stooges and swing between well meaning humour and slavish devotion. The eponymous characters are kept as lovable misfits, and when they are playing to the stupidity of the characters they have another fun comedy on their hands. When they lean too far towards Moe incessant slapping of his brothers, and Curly's tics, it becomes a kids film. Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos), Curly (Will Sasso) and Larry (Sean Hayes) have spent all their lives in an orphanage, and caused constant headaches for the nuns that were in charge. They obviously don't mean to cause all the trouble, they are just, at times unbearably, stupid and clumsy. Their hearts are in the right place however, and when the orphanage is faced with closure, they venture out into the world to raise the $830,000 needed to save it. Their hapless attempts to get the money lead them to Lydia (Sofia Vergara) who hires the trio to kill her rich husband under the premise that it is a mercy killing, predictable shenanigans ensue. The start of The Three Stooges has to be applauded as we are introduced to the stooges as kids, and given the chance to acclimatised with the world that the Farrelly's have tried to create and by making sure that we know the stooges have always been adorable troublemakers who wouldn't hurt a fly intentionally. It also drums into us that although the three are constantly battering each other, they ultimately care about each other too. Although it is called The Three Stooges it is clear that Moe, played as a kid by Skyler Gisondo, is the lead character. This all comes together in the scene where Moe is adopted, tries to convince the couple to also take Curly and Larry, then gets returned to orphanage and exchanged for a normal kid, and then chases after the car shouting that he has changed his mind. When it concentrates outside of what we all already know about the Three Stooges; slapstick, Curly's crazy sounds, and the cartoonish sound effects, the film is one that everyone will enjoy. It's when it slips back inside the box and relies on habits rather than humour that it all starts to feel a bit Groundhog Day. The Three Stooges almost works as a live action cartoon, and whether you are familiar with the original or not, you will soon get sick and tired of the repetitive actions of these characters and it all comes across as somewhat lazy as if they couldn't be bothered to write new jokes so keep going back to the same all thing to try and gain, increasingly pitiful, laughs. Where Can I Watch The Three Stooges
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