THE THREE STOOGES (2012)

Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos, Will Sasso

THE THREE STOOGES (2012). Directors: Bobby and Peter Farrelly.

"You must be French -- that's a lot of oui oui." One of the Stooges referring to a baby.

If you're expecting a biopic that looks into the lives of the Three Stooges, look elsewhere. This purports to tell the life story of the Stooges, who are left on the doorstep of an orphanage run by nuns, and cause such damage over the years that the place has to close unless they can come up with $800,000. Fat chance! In sub-plots, an avaricious lady (Sofia Verara) hires the Stooges to allegedly murder her "dying" husband (Craig Bierko/Kirby Heyborne) and Moe winds up the star of a reality series set in Jersey! The Stooges are recreated by Sean Hayes (Larry), Will Sasso (Curly), and Chris Diamantopoulos (Moe), and they all do a nearly flawless job. Diamantopoulos really has Moe's voice down pat; Sasso does Curly's shtick to perfection, but Hayes isn't quite there as Larry. As to be expected in a modern movie, there's a gross 21st century sensibility in some sequences -- the boys uses babies to literally piss on each other in a hospital nursery -- and the humor is perhaps more black than it was in the Stooges' day. On the other hand, much of this is laugh-out-loud funny, and it's basically good-natured if at times in questionable taste. The child actors are all excellent, and Stephen Collins [The First Wives Club] scores as the duplicitous Mr. Harter. Other cast stand-outs include Jane Lynch as the Mother Superior and especially the wonderful Larry David as the delightfully dyspeptic Sister Mary-Mengele! A sequel to this film has been announced.

Verdict: Some very funny moments. ***.