The Three Stooges (2012 film)

The Three Stooges (promoted as The Three Stooges: The Movie) is a 2012 American slapstick comedy film based on the 1925–70 comedy trio of the same name. It was produced, written and directed by the Farrelly brothers and co-written by Mike Cerrone. It stars Chris Diamantopoulos, Sean Hayes, and Will Sasso, re-creating the eponymous characters played by Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard.

The story places the Stooges in a 21st-century setting, where they try to save their childhood orphanage from foreclosure while inadvertently getting mixed up in a murder plot and a reality TV show. After over a decade of setbacks stemming from casting issues, principal photography took place from May to July 2011. The film was released by 20th Century Fox on April 13, 2012. It received mixed reviews by critics, who praised its performances (specifically those by Diamantopoulos, Hayes and Sasso), humor, heart, timing, the Farrelly brothers' direction and faithfulness to the source material, while criticizing its convoluted narrative.