The Three Stooges
All pain. No brain.
The Three Stooges (2012)
Production
Budget
$30 000 000
Revenue
$54 819 301
Director
Scenario
Composer
Producer
Actors
Sean Hayes
Larry
Will Sasso
Curly
Jane Lynch
Mother Superior
Sofía Vergara
Lydia
Jennifer Hudson
Sister Rosemary
Craig Bierko
Mac
Stephen Collins
Mr. Harter
Short description
Three newborns are left on the steps of an orphanage run by nuns, and the boys grow up there as Larry, Curly and Moe — clumsy, bickering janitors who have never known any other home. When the orphanage faces financial ruin, the trio sets out to raise the money needed to keep it open. Their first venture into the wider world entangles them with a wealthy woman, Lydia, who wants her husband out of the way, and it also lands one of them on a hit television reality show.
The film is a comedy directed by Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly, who also wrote the screenplay with Mike Cerrone. It is the tenth film Bobby Farrelly directed in chronological order, following Hall Pass and preceding Dumb and Dumber To, and the eleventh for Peter Farrelly, following Hall Pass and preceding Movie 43. Sean Hayes plays Larry, Will Sasso plays Curly and Chris Diamantopoulos plays Moe, with Jane Lynch as Mother Superior, Sofía Vergara as Lydia and Jennifer Hudson as Sister Rosemary. The large credited cast and crew reflect a broad production.
Made for a budget of 30 million dollars, the film took about 55 million dollars worldwide. Audiences are divided: on IMDb it holds 5.1 out of 10 from more than 32,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.8 out of 10 from several hundred. A critics' rating of 5.4 out of 10 from 150 reviews places professional opinion close to the audience verdict rather than above it.
What's left behind the scenes
- During the hospital scene, when the trio jumps from the roof and falls directly onto Teddy, Moe is seen landing on the shoulder of the road. The transition from a live person to a plastic doll substituting for him is visible at the moment of impact.
- When Teddy takes a picture of the trio on his iPhone, the sound of a shutter is heard, but it’s clearly visible that he didn’t open the camera app, and a normal desktop is displayed on the screen.
- When Larry and Curly reunite with Moe on the Jersey Shore boardwalk, the producer is very surprised to see there are three of them, forgetting that he had already seen them together on stage before.
- In this film, Craig Birk has a large mustache and works with a woman named Lydia (Sofia Vergara). This is an obvious nod to Groucho Marx from the Marx Brothers comedy trio, who made films around the same time as the real 'Three Stooges'. Marx wore fake mustaches in most of his films and performed the song 'Lydia – the Tattooed Lady' in the film 'At the Circus' (1939).
- The famous American comedy trio Three Stooges originated in 1930 with Larry Fine, Moe Howard, and Shemp Howard. In 1933, Shemp Howard left the troupe to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Shemp and Moe’s younger brother, Jerome, who performed under the stage name Curly. The trio existed in its most famous lineup for almost 14 years, filming many films during that time. In May 1946, Curly Howard’s stage career was cut short by a stroke, and Shemp Howard returned to the group for several years. Later, Shemp Howard and Curly Howard (after the latter’s death in 1952) were replaced by comedians Joe Besser and Joe DeRita. The trio continued in this form until the early 1970s, continuing to appear and enjoy great success on television and in film. Throughout their existence, the Three Stooges starred in 220 films, primarily short films.
- The project was in development for almost 14 years. During this time, Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros., MGM, and 20th Century Fox took turns working on it. The main difficulty throughout this period was casting actors for the three key roles.
- After the project finally got off the ground, the three main roles were secured for Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, and Jim Carrey. Benicio del Toro was the first to leave the project. He was then followed by Sean Penn, who cited the need to devote more time to his charity work in Haiti. Jim Carrey almost immediately followed his example, not wanting to risk his health by gaining too much weight.
- When Moe hits Larry on the head with a hammer at the beginning of the film, it's noticeable that the hammer is rubber (it compresses upon impact).
- Several actors from the popular American television series "The Beach" make cameo appearances as themselves in the film.
- The song playing when the babies are dropped off at the orphanage is “Road Runner” by Jonathan Richman and Modern Lovers. Richman played one of the street guitarists in the film “There’s Something About Mary” (1998), which was also directed by Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly.
- During the dentist scene at the beginning of the film, three boys claim they are 'doing art' when the mother superior enters the room to call them to lunch. Two of the three were engaged in things that reflected their life interests. Moe Howard was reading, and enjoyed it (according to his brother Jack). Larry Fine played the violin and was quite good at it. So good, in fact, that his parents seriously considered sending Larry to Europe to study at a conservatory.
- The directors, or rather, the two actors who played the directors, reveal the secret of how physical comedy was actually done at the end of the film. Furthermore, in real life, The Three Stooges show was shown on television several times (following incidents with children injuring each other while parodying the show’s signature eye pokes and slaps) to demonstrate how to perform such stunts safely.
- Cher could have played the role of the priory’s Mother Superior. Ultimately, the role went to Jane Lynch.
- Justin Timberlake auditioned for the role of Larry.
- Shane Jacobson and Bill Chott were considered for the role of Curly.
- In the scene where the couple who will eventually become Teddy's parents are driving down the road with Moe (this takes place 25 years prior to the present, i.e., before 2012), they are followed by a red Jeep Liberty, which did not go into production until 2001.
- David Samson, president of the Miami Marlins baseball club, appeared in an anniversary party scene.
- Voice actor Billy West (who based his voice on Larry Fine when voicing Stimpy in the series “Ren & Stimpy,” 1991–1998) worked on set as a dialect coach for Sean Hayes, who played Larry.
- Johnny Knoxville and Andy Samberg were offered roles in the film.
- After the car explodes on the lake, Teddy and the trio talk on the bridge. Teddy’s face, initially smeared with something black (dirt or soot), looks much cleaner than in the previous shot. And in the final shot of this scene, it’s just as dirty again as it was at the beginning.
- When the Monsignor is on the stairs, the boys are around the corner in a golf cart with a lawnmower attached. The lawnmower’s folding handle is extended in such a way that it knocks down the stairs, thereby knocking the Monsignor down. But in the shot where the boys jump out of the golf cart, the lawnmower handle is folded.
- As shown in the film, the orphanage was founded in 1934. In the same year, The Three Stooges began filming their series of short films for Columbia Pictures, which continued until 1958.
- In the film, Moe is responsible for the start-up capital. In reality, Moe Howard managed all the financial affairs of the trio, making sure they didn't spend everything.
- In the scene where the Three Stooges use diaperless babies to urinate on each other, the baby in Moe's hands is visibly wearing a diaper when he aims it at Curly.
- Chris Diamantopoulos, who played Moe in this film, was born five days after the real Moe Howard passed away.
- Larry David, who plays Sister Mary-Mengele, played Larry in several parodies of The Three Stooges in his former sketch show Fridays (1980–1982) on ABC.
- When Teddy’s wife sprays toothpaste in his face, his face is shown without any traces of toothpaste.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
