COMEDY; PG, 1hr 30min

STARRING: Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, Chris Diamantopoulos

Having been treated to the wit and wisdom of the original Stooges shorts—which boiled down to three unattractive men beating up on each other—I was curious to see what writer-directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly would make of them. They’ve definitely nailed The Look: Hayes, Sasso and Diamantopoulos are ringers as Larry, Curly and Moe. The episodic form, rapid-fire delivery, slapstick physicality and phoney-baloney sound effects are alive and kicking, too, right from when we meet the trio as orphaned kids. (Jane Lynch is the orphanage Mother Superior and Larry David plays a nun, which, like the entire show, should be a lot funnier than it is.)

Twenty-five years on, the Stooges set out to save the indebted orphanage from a forced sale by raising $830,000. Faster than a flat one-liner, they’re hired as husband killers by a scheming bombshell (Sofia Vergara) who clearly wouldn’t recognise three man-child lunkheads if they lost the feeble plot on her front doorstep. Which, of course, they do. The Farrellys have brought off a bang-bang-bang-up tribute to cartoonish whoopee that wasn’t worth making.

Andiee's Rating: **

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