"The Three Stooges" by Peter & Bobby Farrelly

January 22, 2015

In more than 200 (mostly short) films from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, the Three Stooges were the epitome of slapstick: unmistakably idiotic hairstyles and tireless finger-in-the-eye routines turned the comic trio of Larry, Curly and Moe into American icons. Mel Brooks wanted to erect a monument in their honor in the 1970s, but it was the Farrelly Brothers who finally created one – after 15 years in development hell. Their comedy, The Three Stooges (2012), masterfully recreates the body control malfunctions of the originals with the characteristic Farrelly humanism fully present.
 
The film is a utopian vaudeville tale in three episodes: the Stooges' ineptitude gets them expelled from a Catholic orphanage (with Larry David as a nasty nun named Sister Mary-Mengele), which they then try to heroically save in an era of failing healthcare systems – and with excursions into the madness of Reality TV. A major work of contemporary U.S. comedy.
 
The Austrian premiere of The Three Stooges is presented in conjunction with the current chapter of the series, “The Utopia of Film”, which includes The Ladies Man (1961, Jerry Lewis), The Disorderly Orderly (1964, Frank Tashlin), Fun With Dick and Jane (2005, Dean Parisot) as well as two double features: The Errand Boy (1961, Jerry Lewis) with The Cable Guy (1996, Ben Stiller) and Dumb & Dumber (1994) with Dumb and Dumber To (2014, Peter & Bobby Farrelly).