SUMMARY: Running Time: 88 Min. (Color / Black & White)
Televised on ABC in April 2000, this biographical film was co-produced by Columbia/Tri-Star Pictures and Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions. Filmed in Australia, director James Frawley adapted author Michael Fleming’s 1999 book: From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons: The Three Stooges.
Mostly told from Moe Howard’s point-of-view, the film takes a fictionalized glimpse of the young Howard Brothers (Moe, Shemp, & Curly) working as a blue-collar comedy trio at New York’s Luna Park in 1912. Shifting to 1959, the movie depicts a sixty-something Moe as an embittered errand boy for ungrateful Columbia Pictures executive Harry Romm. Pressed by a young Boston TV executive to set up a Stooges reunion gig, Moe poignantly reflects on the trio’s thirty-plus year run.
As boozy Ted Healy’s unappreciated employees, Moe, Shemp, and Larry Fine spend years working the vaudeville circuit before their Hollywood movie debut: “Soup to Nuts” misfires. The film’s failure effectively severs their already-stormy relationship with Healy. Working as a comedy trio, the future Stooges scores decent vaudeville success before a disenchanted Shemp quits the act.
According to this movie, Shemp and later Curly similarly deem Moe an overbearing bully like Healy. Replacing Shemp, Moe & Larry recruit exuberant Jerome “Curly” Howard to launch ‘The Three Stooges.’ Signed to a Columbia Pictures movie contract extending nearly a quarter-century, the Stooges’ fame is recreated through glimpses filming ten of their Columbia black-and-white two-reel films.
Between Curly’s declining health and Columbia’s undermining of the team’s popularity, the situation climaxes in 1946 with Curly’s career-ending stroke. Shemp reluctantly returns as Curly’s successor. After the tragic deaths of Curly and then Shemp, an aging Moe & Larry sense that their livelihoods are in jeopardy. Finally persuaded by the persistent Boston TV executive, Moe & Larry come out of retirement to recruit Joe DeRita as a new Stooge for a pivotal live stage gig.
The film’s brief written epilogue mentions how Larry’s passing and then Moe’s, both in 1975, finally brought the curtain down on the Stooges.
Moe Howard: Paul Ben-Victor
Helen Howard: Rachael Blake
Larry Fine: Evan Handler
Mabel Fine: Anna Lise Phillips
Shemp Howard: John Kassir
Gertrude “Babe” Howard: Jeannette Cronin
Ted Healy: Marton Czokas
Jerome “Curly” Howard: Michael Chiklis
Tom (TV Executive): Joel Edgerton
Joe DeRita: Peter Callan
Harry Romm: Brandon Burkes
Joe Besser: Laurence Coy
REVIEW:
In fairness, there’s an opening disclaimer spelling out that viewers are getting a dramatization rather than a glorified documentary. Presenting the Stooges’ historic run (from 1925 to 1959) in montages, it’s not surprising that this well-intentioned effort crams far too much into a standard-length TV movie.
Putting aside factual inaccuracies, omissions, and unsubstantiated rumors (i.e. that an unemployed Moe was Romm’s has-been errand boy), the movie does a relatively solid job. Terrific cast performances, for instance, compensate for lapses into preposterous fiction (i.e. Healy confronted backstage by his gun-wielding girlfriend/wife re: his flagrant womanizing; or, in a posh restaurant kitchen, having three legendary movie studio heads simultaneously bid the incredulous Stooges with rival job offers).
This bio-pic’s main asset is casting, most notably a spot-on Michael Chiklis. Sporting inspired chemistry, Paul Ben-Victor’s Moe and Evan Handler’s Larry are also consistently terrific. The same applies to Rachael Blake and Anna-Lise Phillips playing Moe & Larry’s loyal wives. However, one glaring contradiction arises: the actresses’ aging make-up is expertly-applied –yet, the same doesn’t apply to their male counterparts. Ben-Victor’s aging make-up is at best serviceable, but neither Evan Handler’s Larry nor John Kassir’s Shemp seemingly age over the thirty-plus years seen in the film.
As a low-key Shemp, Kassir is believable, despite the script playing up the eldest Stooge’s reputation as a neurotic worrywart — it’s a shame to see whimpering conveyed as Shemp’s primary trait. Also, it’s a fair guess that neither Healy’s heirs nor Joe Besser’s are thrilled with their unflattering portrayals. In contrast, Chiklis’ take on Curly ‘soitenly’ (pardon the expression) exceeds all expectations, especially when expressing his child-like personality. Only Curly’s re-enacted screwball antics come off as a rehearsed impersonation by Chiklis.
Seen briefly, the montages of the Stooges filming some of their comedies is another weak spot. Instead of these awkward recreations, the producers should have integrated black-and-white footage of the real Stooges to better convey their comedy magic. Suffice to say, Handler, Chiklis, and Ben-Victor are far more adept portraying the off-screen Stooges than they are mimicking their wacky film personas.
Despite its various problems, this Three Stooges homage is still a nice treat for fans.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6½ Stars
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