Based on the trailer, I can see fun in the movie...
- I hope to have fun seeing it bomb next April
- I hope to have fun watching the DVDs collecting dust in Wal-Mart bargain bins later in 2012
The Three Stooges ARE Moe, Larry, Shemp, Curly, and yes, even Joe B. and Joe D. All I see in this trailer are the Farrellys capitalizing on the physical punishment angles, particularly an abundance of eyepoking, and [naturally] none of originals' interactive chemistry which is what really defined the comedy team. The Farrelly/Cerone script does not have the class of an Elwood Ullman, Felix Adler, Ed Bernds, Charley Chase, Clyde Bruckman, et al, attached to it. The Farrellys are borrowing an already proven commodity, and a lifetime of others' hard work, in their attempt for something they haven't had in years... a hit... and, this will not be it. This is nothing more than a Farrelly vanity project. In my opinion, C3 senior management has betrayed the obligation it has to its corporate asset.
Regenerate interest? The originals have generated perpetual, growing interest over the past 50+ years, and this movie is unnecessary to that. The 8 volumes of DVDs released by Sony from 2007 – 2010 far exceeded sales estimates... originally planned as a series from Sony's classic film home video division, the volume of pre-orders on the first volume had the DVDs reassigned to Sony's mass-market division whose retail distribution channels were better equipped to handle the volume. Since the late 1990s, the boys' films have been a continued presence on national cable TV, and for all of 2011 have been shown on THREE national TV outlets, AntennaTV, AMC and IFC. This movie is not responsible for any of that.
Over the past 40 years, a lot of progress was made in elevating the Stooges' reputation in film history, thanks to historians and fans like Leonard Maltin, Ted Okuda, Ed Watz, the Lenburgs, Gary Lassin, etc., and particularly family like Joan Howard Maurer. The Stooges may not be everybody's cup of tea, but time has earned them a deserved critical reputation that stands alongside their popular reputation. The trailer demonstrates what was long suspected... overdone, gratuitous physical gags for cheap laughs, poorly done by impersonators with no chemistry. Some of the general populace will now perceive the Three Stooges as this movie. Any new fans reached will be more than offset by negatives. So much for progress.
I will not support this 2012 abomination, and I will continue to strongly advise family, friends and whoever not to waste their time and money.
What I will continue to do is support Sony's marketing of the Columbia films, and look forward to new releases, whether retail, MOD channels, new tech formats, what-have-you. I will continue to support Warner Archive's recent releases, and their future plans for Shemp's Vitaphone shorts and additional features with Healy appearances. I hope that Universal's rumored MOD program expansion is true and products with the Stooges (MYRT & MARGE) and more features with Shemp in supporting roles are in the future.
On a related note, maybe Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers can form a quartet and tour as The Beatles. Hey, if it generates interest in the originals, it must be good, right?
