Plan B Forum

As much as I was never a fan of them, you cannot remake the three Stooges without the three Stooges. It would be like trying to remake the Marx Bros without the Marx Bros or the Pink Panther without Peter Sellers (even though they did.)

One rumor from last year was that Jim Carrey, Sean Penn, and Bencio de Toro would play the Stooges; it's hard to imagine 3 people less like he stooges (especially Carrey whose brand of humor is quite different)). Of course they did a version of The Honeymooners with an all black cast; maybe a white Jeffersons or Good Time is next?

Can Chekhovian humor ever really grow old?

Big RR wrote: (especially Carrey whose brand of humor is quite different)).

"Different" as in "very unfunny"?

I'll admit I think I'm being overgenerous in calling it humor, but he seems to have a following and makes a lot of money. I haven't been able to sit through one of his movies, and doubt I ever will be.

Keld--isn't the question whether "Checkhovian humor" was ever new?

I fell asleep long before the humour in "The Cherry Orchard" but I loved his later work:





But not funny - just like the Three Stooges (the Grand Funk Railroad of comedy)

Well someone had to prove that navigators could live for more than one episode.

And get promoted too!

I fell asleep long before the humour in "The Cherry Orchard" but I loved his later work:

Now that there is funny...

ne rumor from last year was that Jim Carrey, Sean Penn, and Bencio de Toro would play the Stooges; it's hard to imagine 3 people less like he stooges

I can't see how they could make it any less funny than the originals were. I think it's AMC that has them on some mornings. Such a waste of time when they could show some great old movies.

The Stooges are classic comedy. Not for everyone but none the less classic. You either love them or hate them it's that simple.

Agreed Miles, spokenas someone who loves that nonsense, as do my daughters.

@W, even if you dislike the Stooges, I can't see how Jim Carry can make anything better by appearing in it.

The stooges are pretty much a guy thing. My husband likes them, my brother seems to adore them. I don't even like them on the TV in the background.

I am not a huge fan of Carrey, but he was funny in Liar Liar.

My sis and I do adore the Three Stooges.

Marx Bros always ruled for me.

I admit having spent countless hours watching the Stooges. I remember being very bothered by later versions with that "Shemp" character - or whatever his name was.

But "funny" is not a word I would generally associate with what they did. Painfully stupid?

While I think I have a good sense of humor, I never saw any humor in Abbot and Costello.

Most situation comedies of the past 20 years have been so painfully devoid of anything actually humorous that I'm totally turned off of the genre.

The Beverly Hillbillies...now that was funny!

'Clowning' AKA slapstick, is ancient comedy, and it can be enjoyed without having to think about it, but it does need to be choreographed well, or else it comes across as violent and brutish.

What the Stooges did was; perform staged moves, you could appreciate as well as any dance. The only thing they asked was that you excuse their bad behavior because they were Stooges, not actors.

I think the other difference is that the Stooges did the slapstick mixed with a significant amount of nastiness, indeed, IMHO ne of the best comedy groups to do so. Often slapstick is more sily than nasty, the hapless jerk getting pummeled by a variety of obstacles despite having done nothing to deserve it; people like Red Skelton, Jerry Lewis, Buster KEaton, even Harold Lloyd followed this formula. People like the stooges made the entire exchange a bit nasty and mean; the closest I can see to something like this would be Chaplin, often unwittingly giving back as good as he got.

Remaking them does seem odd and unworkable for a whole feature film these days. Slapstick ain't what it used to be.
When I think physical comedy, I think more of Jackie Chan with his complex and intricate stunts and fights. How can the old 'poke'em in the eye' compare to that?