The mark of a good Biopic is when you forget you are watching an actor and remember you are watching a character who was actually a real person.
This film did okay, for the limited medium it had, telling the "Stooges" (a career that spanned decades) in a two-hour movie with commercials. Paul Ben Victor is completely believable as Moe Howard, who really was the driving force behind the act. They started with their tutelage under Ted Healy (implying, incorrectly, Healy was nothing without the stooges when he enjoyed a pretty good career without them in film and stage.) It also portrayed Moe as a guy who was looking out for his partners even when they weren't looking out for themselves.
If the film has a weakness, it was in how they portrayed the later stages of their career. Shemp's return to the act was quickly washed over. (In fact, Shemp was with the act for nine years after Curley's debilitating stroke, and two more in the shameful years after his death when Columbia used a double and clips from other shorts.) Joe Besser and Curley Joe DeRita are mentioned, but not really characterized.
It was a harsh look at pre-SGA Hollywood, where actors were treated poorly and didn't share in the profits.... Although the stooges did better than most.
Overall, a fun film for Stooges fans.
This film did okay, for the limited medium it had, telling the "Stooges" (a career that spanned decades) in a two-hour movie with commercials. Paul Ben Victor is completely believable as Moe Howard, who really was the driving force behind the act. They started with their tutelage under Ted Healy (implying, incorrectly, Healy was nothing without the stooges when he enjoyed a pretty good career without them in film and stage.) It also portrayed Moe as a guy who was looking out for his partners even when they weren't looking out for themselves.
If the film has a weakness, it was in how they portrayed the later stages of their career. Shemp's return to the act was quickly washed over. (In fact, Shemp was with the act for nine years after Curley's debilitating stroke, and two more in the shameful years after his death when Columbia used a double and clips from other shorts.) Joe Besser and Curley Joe DeRita are mentioned, but not really characterized.
It was a harsh look at pre-SGA Hollywood, where actors were treated poorly and didn't share in the profits.... Although the stooges did better than most.
Overall, a fun film for Stooges fans.