The Three Stooges (2000) (TV)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

James Frawley

Writers (WGA):

Michael Fleming (book)
Janet Roach (television story)

Release Date:

24 April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Slapstick | Vaudeville | Comedy Team | Stroke | Comedian

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Paul Ben-Victor	...	Moe Howard
Evan Handler	...	Larry Fine
John Kassir	...	Shemp Howard
Michael Chiklis	...	Jerome 'Curly' Howard
Rachael Blake	...	Helen Howard
Anna Lise Phillips	...	Mabel Fine (as Anna-Lise Phillips)
Jeanette Cronin	...	Gertrude Howard
Joel Edgerton	...	Tom Cosgrove
Marton Csokas	...	Ted Healy
Linal Haft	...	Harry Cohn
Brandon Burke	...	Harry Romm
Lewis Fitz-Gerald	...	Jules White (as Lewis Fitzgerald)
Peter Callan	...	Joe DeRita
Laurence Coy	...	Joe Besser
Phillip Hinton	...	Judge

Runtime:

88 min | Germany:84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Comedy III Productions Inc.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During the first Steadicam shot of Larry, Shemp and Moe at the train station, a Sydney City Rail automated ticket machine can be seen in the background behind the potted plants. These ticket machines were not created until the late 1980s.

Quotes:

Moe Howard: Is there anything you won't bet on?
Larry Fine: Yeah, a winner.

Movie Connections:

References They Stooge to Conga (1943)

A touching look at the men behind the nyuks.

It's a fact of life: Men think the Three Stooges are hilarious, and most women just don't get them. But women might want to give them a second chance after seeing this touching biography.

The thing that struck me most about the Three Stooges movie was its tone. This was a film made by people who genuinely cared about the Three Stooges, people who wanted to express their appreciation by giving the world a glimpse of the men behind the laughs. The Stooges were comic geniuses, but they were human and fragile, just like the rest of us. Sure it was sappy at times, and sometimes seemed to gloss over or omit certain events, but hey--you can't show thirty years in two hours without missing something. Especially poignant was the relationship between Moe and his "little" brother Curly.

Told mostly in flashbacks, The Three Stooges follows the boys from their Vaudeville days with Ted Healy to their triumphant return to the stage after the first TV showing of their two-reel shorts. The reality was that Columbia pictures was making a mint off the Stooges films, but their contract cut them out of any profit-sharing. Anxious to get back to the stage and enjoy some of the fame they've earned, Moe, Larry, and Joe "Curly Joe" DeRita agree to make the first of many personal appearances at a TV station. The final scene has Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe taking the stage for the first time in years.

I'm not ashamed to admit it: When the curtain went up and the surviving Stooges looked out at the packed house, I cried. Maybe because the Stooges are a part of my history--a good and happy part--the way they're a part of the history of every kid who grew up watching their antics.

It's not perfect, but it's the best there is. At the very least, it's a good Stooges primer and a stepping stone to further Stooge research. The Stooges will never go away, because let's face it: As long as men are men, the Three Stooges will be their comic heroes.