Movie review: The Three Stooges

Sometimes journeying back into vaults of movie-making history are misplaced.

The Farrelly Brothers (Bobby and Peter) are well known for their comedies (such as Dumb and Dumber and There's Something About Mary) but they probably should have left the iconic Stooges alone.

Back in the early 60s, the Stooges made a huge name for themselves with their silliness and physical comedy.

Knuckleheads Larry, Moe and Curly were always in trouble with everything they did and, while their hearts may have been in the right place, their brains were somewhere else.

Their brand of physical comedy was a success all those years ago but a little less so now.

Larry (Sean Hayes), Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos) and Curly (Will Sasso) do a remarkable job in recreating the original Stooges with their finger-poking, nyuk-nyuking and woo-woo-wooing.

The Three Stooges begin their journey as babies on the steps of an orphanage.

Unwanted, they start what is going to be a very long stint at the orphanage and an even longer stint annoying people.

The Mother Superior of the orphanage (Glee's Jane Lynch) must take care of the three children while preventing them from destroying all around them.

When the orphanage is threatened with closure some years later, the Stooges take it upon themselves to raise the $830,000 needed to keep its doors open.

In their fruitless hunt for the cash they stumble into a ruthless woman (television sitcom Modern Family's Sofia Vergara) who is intent on killing her husband to claim all his money.

She thinks the Stooges are dim enough to do her dirty work.

In their efforts to try and stay one step ahead of the law, the boys go their separate ways after a falling out with Moe, who ends up making a name for himself on TV's Jersey Shore reality series.

Yes, Snooki and The Situation seem to find it as odd as we do.

But, as you might expect, in the end The Stooges manage to stay alive long enough to do some good.

The Three Stooges

(PG) 105 minutes

Rating: 2.5 / 5 stars