As go the seasons, so goes “The Three Stooges.” The Farrelly Brothers‘ re-awakening of the brand name has been through various permutations, gliding from Columbia to Warner Bros., to the ashes of MGM and finally, Fox. Every leading man under the sun has been rumored to play the eponymous goofballs, from the likes of Sean Penn and Jim Carrey to Larry David and Justin Timberlake and everybody in between. Finally, the release dates — “The Three Stooges” originally earmarked dates in 2009 and 2011. Now, next April, the Stooges are back.
Sean Hayes (… ok), Will Sasso (eh?) and Chris Diamantopoulos (what?) play Larry, Curly and Moe in this PG-rated updating of the classic clowns. With old gags re-contextualized for modern times, the movie will feature three interconnected vignettes showcasing their slapdash slapstick, which is a humorous way of saying these guys won’t stop beating the shit out of each other. Call it “Father of Jackass” if you will, kids. Jane Lynch, Sofia Vergara, Larry David, Jennifer Hudson and Stephen Collins co-star.
This places the release date on a Wednesday of a very busy spring week. Universal is staking a claim for a similar audience with “American Reunion” that Friday, while Screen Gems aims typically low with “Think Like a Man.” Summit‘s also going wide with thriller “The Cold Light of Day” with Henry Cavill supported by Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver, while “Titanic” gets a 3D re-release as well. We would have suggested the week of 4/20, where they would be counterprogramming against “House At the End of the Street” (and going against “Scary Movie 5,” though we bet that moves), but clearly we’re not the ad wizards at Fox.
