Film Clip: The Three Stooges

Larry (Sean Hayes), Curly (Will Sasso) and Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos) set out to raise $830,000 to save the orphanage where they’ve lived (unadopted) for 35 years. Writer-directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly and co-writer Mike Cerrone do a reboot-cum-homage to the long-running slapstick franchise, a sort of movie equivalent of a tribute-band performance. Such things are almost always a mistake (remember 1994’s The Little Rascals? Me neither.), but the Farrellys defy the odds. They understand the structure and spirit of the old Stooges shorts, but even more, their three stars are the pitch-perfect incarnations of Larry Fine and Curly Howard and Moe Howard—after all, the slightest mistake of body, face or voice would have sunk the whole show. Larry David, Jane Lynch, Sofia Vergara and others offer game support.