I seem to be more like others here in terms of "softening my stance" on the film itself. My main gripe before anything that the movie would almost be disrespectful to the legacy of the Stooges, with more gross-out humor and other things the Farrally's are known for rather than the Stooge material that the trailers show...
You make good points and there are certainly folks that agree with you.
One thing people seem to be losing sight of is that the original shorts were "of another time" and the comic sensibilities of the shorts (such as they are) are
of that time. Times change, the industry has changed, and for better or for worse the public's taste in comedy has changed.
I don't
know the Farelly brothers and have no connection with them or with the studio that finally greenlit the project, but I tend to believe what they have said in interviews...that they wanted to stay true to the spirit of the characters but bring them into the 21st century. It's a formidable challenge; other than the comedy, part of the current day appeal of the
original shorts is the "quaintness" of the 30's/40's/50's period setting.
But really,
if the original Stooges were in their prime and making films today, I'd be willing to bet that their humor would be every bit as "out there" as that of the Farellys. While the Farellys have had a few misses in recent years, I think that ultimately they were a good fit for this project and seem to be 'coming from the right place' in their approach.
Again...whether they've actually pulled it off remains to be seen. This was a risky venture from the git-go (for all of the reasons voiced throughout this thread) and they knew the risks. After all...the bottom line
is that they were making a Three Stooges movie, without the Three Stooges.