If you watch the special features, you will see that the movie was made by people who really love The Three Stooges and was made to be as true to the original Three Stooges as possible; they attempted to take the spirit of the original and the same style as the original and merely create a new story with some new gags. The bit about an iPhone would not have made any sense back when the original Three Stooges were alive, but the madcap physical slapping and eye-poking sessions were, in some cases, choreographed nearly identically to scenes from some of the original films.
The sound effects were instrumental (no pun intended) in recreating the feeling of The Three Stooges - so much so that, in order to get the sounds correct, they actually lifted the sound effects from the original films and cleaned them up, rather than creating new sound effects.
The main leads were Sean Hays (Will and Grace) as Larry, Will Sasso as Curly and Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe. However, they put a lot into their parts and most times, it just looks like Larry, Curly and Moe. In The Three Stooges: The Movie, Larry, Curly and Moe have grown up in an orphanage from the time they were wee little mischief-makers, all the way up through becoming work-dodging, bungling-oaf handymen at the orphanage. This presents a stage on which some of their slap-stick comedic mishaps can play out. However, the orphanage soon receives word that, due to unpaid debts, it will be closed and sold, kicking all of the children out to live with foster parents, dispersing the nuns and kicking the Stooges out on their ears.
Our unlikely heroes decide they will go out into the world and raise the money needed to save the orphanage in a month's time. The three leave the nest on their quest and when the naive Stooges meet the outside world for the first time, hilarity ensues.
When a gold-digging hottie (Sofía Vergara) decides to get her lover, Mac (Craig Bierko) to help her get rid of her spouse, they think they've found the perfect patsies in the Stooges, and cook up a plan to hire The Stooges to "mercy kill" Lydia's husband in the dark (so it's unexpected) in the middle of the night. Mac pretends to be Lydia's terminally-ill husband and says they'd be doing him a favor. The scheming lovers underestimate the limits of The Stooges ability to mess things up, however, and end up with more problems - and pain - than they could have imagined.
Finally, the strain of trying to raise the money proves to be too much for these three friends and they have a falling out, which sends Larry and Curly off on their own without Moe and - accidentally - launches Moe into show business, landing him a spot on Jersey Shore.
Will the friends reunite? Will they raise the money and save the orphanage? Why, the very thought is ridiculous! Preposterous! ...so, of course!
The movie is clear and crisp on Blu-ray and I would suggest watching The Three Stooges: The Movie in high-definition, if possible. It's a fun movie, with several laugh-out-loud moments and a good number of snickers in-between. If you're a fan of The Three Stooges, you should probably watch the special features first, then watch the feature. If you're not familiar with The Three Stooges, watch the movie - then check out the legend it is trying to emulate.
