As a lifelong Three Stooges fan, and over 20 year member of the Three Stooges Fan Club, this movie by the Farrelly Brothers was a complete failure. Not once in the over 200 shorts and feature films the real Three Stooges made did they ever mock religion. Yet a major part of this movie, is to, maybe not bash Catholicism, but certainly to insult it. Casting Larry David, someone openly hostile to Catholicism, as a nun named after a Nazi, is tantamount to putting David Duke in black-face to portray Bill Cosby.
As for the actors playing the Stooges, they were not very convincing. It seemed like they were doing a Saturday Night Live parody instead of portraying characters. At times each of them nail their respective Stooge voices, and perhaps even mannerisms, but overall they come off like they are in an SNL skit instead of a major motion picture.
As for the plot (something of a rip off of "The Blues Brothers"), it is divided into three acts. Act I, not counting the rampant jabs at Catholicism, seems more like The Little Rascals than the Stooges. In fact, you get the feeling the Farrellys really wanted to do a Three Stooges-Little Rascals team up film. As I said, the film doesn't really bash Catholicism as much as just mock it. Only Larry David's character is truly offensive. The other nuns, while stereotypes, are not really mean spirited (even Kate Upton's bikini moment at the end of the movie, which is totally different than the scene used in the trailers, actually plays as "cute" rather than "malicious"... although her very wooden acting is another matter). There is a scene where the Stooges attack Brian Doyle Murray as a priest that is questionable. Part of the problem of the film is that it tries too hard to inject some heart tugging melodrama into the story, only to fall flat every time.
Act II is perhaps the best part of the film, with the Stooges doing some classic bits and routines, but things really start to drag in Act III, as most of it is unbelievably spent promoting the TV show "Jersey Shore". The failed attempt at melodrama kicks in again, and there's a happy ending.
Overall, I would suggest if you want to see an excellent Stooges movie, pass on this one, and get the DVD of "Meet The Baron"(1933), perhaps the Stooges' best feature film, starring Jimmy Durante and Ted Healy. It puts this weak remake to shame. Or better yet, get a volume of "The Three Stooges Collection", and enjoy their classic Columbia shorts.
As for the actors playing the Stooges, they were not very convincing. It seemed like they were doing a Saturday Night Live parody instead of portraying characters. At times each of them nail their respective Stooge voices, and perhaps even mannerisms, but overall they come off like they are in an SNL skit instead of a major motion picture.
As for the plot (something of a rip off of "The Blues Brothers"), it is divided into three acts. Act I, not counting the rampant jabs at Catholicism, seems more like The Little Rascals than the Stooges. In fact, you get the feeling the Farrellys really wanted to do a Three Stooges-Little Rascals team up film. As I said, the film doesn't really bash Catholicism as much as just mock it. Only Larry David's character is truly offensive. The other nuns, while stereotypes, are not really mean spirited (even Kate Upton's bikini moment at the end of the movie, which is totally different than the scene used in the trailers, actually plays as "cute" rather than "malicious"... although her very wooden acting is another matter). There is a scene where the Stooges attack Brian Doyle Murray as a priest that is questionable. Part of the problem of the film is that it tries too hard to inject some heart tugging melodrama into the story, only to fall flat every time.
Act II is perhaps the best part of the film, with the Stooges doing some classic bits and routines, but things really start to drag in Act III, as most of it is unbelievably spent promoting the TV show "Jersey Shore". The failed attempt at melodrama kicks in again, and there's a happy ending.
Overall, I would suggest if you want to see an excellent Stooges movie, pass on this one, and get the DVD of "Meet The Baron"(1933), perhaps the Stooges' best feature film, starring Jimmy Durante and Ted Healy. It puts this weak remake to shame. Or better yet, get a volume of "The Three Stooges Collection", and enjoy their classic Columbia shorts.