Well, well… isn't this embarrassing. 3.5 stars...

I've been thinking for a while about how to defend this film and I'm running pretty dry. All I can say is that the performances from the new Stooges were very good and I laughed throughout the film.

The modern references were jarring but actually worked little better than the trailer let on. The first segment in the orphanage was my favourite and as they introduced more and more of the modernity the film lost me a bit. There were also a bunch of jokes that completely fell flat - but there were so many jokes that you would soon be distracted by something that landed.
I felt the drama was forced in just because this was a feature film and they needed something to keep the story going - but it just came off as contrived and unnecessary. Who wants to see any of the Stooges have a character arc?

Perhaps this would have been better if it was an anthology of three or more shorts - that way the extraneous drama is cut and the transition from the orphanage to the city would be less conspicuous.

As it stands it's a loving ode to The Three Stooges and a fairly funny and charming one at that. I'm actually feeling the urge for a rewatch.

I feel dirty.