Slap happy

Even die-hard fans will readily admit that the Three Stooges don’t make a great first impression.

A slap in the face here, an eye-poke there, and the casual Stooge watcher will rightfully say, “Boy, this is stupid.” And it is.

But stupid is also funny.

Those of us who kept watching the Three Stooges short films beyond the first punch in the belly came to realize those physical blows were punctuation marks for all the cleverly stupid wisecracks and cockeyed situations.

Take, for example, the word-play in Stooges shorts that’s often completely overlooked. When meeting society dames in “Half-Wits Holiday” (1947), Larry remarks that he’s “Enchanted,” while Moe says he’s “Enraptured” and Curly thinks he’s following right along when he says graciously, “Embalmed.” When meeting another society lady, they respond in order, “Delighted, devastated, dilapidated.”

Stupid, yes, but also funny.

Stooges fans will tell you that a big part of the Stooges’ appeal these many years later — their short films were produced from the early 1930s through the late 1950s — is that we all can relate to the fact that confusing, overwhelming situations are bound to arise in life.

And that at some point, something stupid is going to happen.

“I think everyone knows that chaos always lurks just around the corner in life, and the Stooges are human chaos personified, with a dash of anarchy and a heap of cluelessness as well,” said Gerry Zarrilli, an English professor at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland and a Stooges fan in his 50s. “Maybe it’s kind of reassuring to us.”

Every generation has had some stupid comedy film or star that has become a “classic.” So it’s probably appropriate that the new film “The Three Stooges” was made by crude comedy masters Bobby and Peter Farrelly, who also gave us “Dumb & Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary.”

This new version takes the characters of Moe, Larry and Curly and drops them into the present day so that they can save their childhood orphanage.

Sounds stupid. Can’t wait to see it.

The classic Three Stooges began in the early ’30s with three real-life comics: brothers Moe and Curly Howard, and violin player Larry Fine. After Curly suffered a debilitating stroke in 1946, the trio was filled out at various times by Shemp Howard (Moe and Curly’s brother, who was actually an original Stooge who returned) and a couple of other forgettable Stooges.

Most of the classic Stooges films were “shorts” made as comedy filler to be shown between features at the movie theater, just like early cartoons. So that helps explain their cartoonish nature. Then in the ’60s and ’70s, they were revived as cheap filler for UHF TV stations, and that’s how the Baby Boomer generation became hooked on the Three Stooges.

The situations and lines were stupid, funny and basic. Everything they did and said was instinctive, like a dog — but a dog who could talk, and whose logic was a little fuzzy.

When Moe orders “burnt toast and a rotten egg” for breakfast, he explains to his confused pals: “I’ve got a tapeworm, and it’s good enough for him.”

And when Moe and Larry sneak into a football game by taking “press” buttons off a vending machine and pretending to be reporters, Curly thinks he’ll get in just as easily with a button that says “pull.”

Between all the funny lines and bizarre happenings are the slaps and pokes. Maybe they weren’t really funny all by themselves, but as comic punctuation, they turned out to be masterful.

At least, in the eyes of some.

“Zero thinking is involved when a guy gets poked in the eye with two fingers, smashed on the head with a brick and kicked in the crotch,” said Maine comedian Bob Marley, the Guinness world record holder for the longest stand-up comedy show. “It’s the same reason we love ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos.’ “

Over the years, it’s become fairly apparent that the Three Stooges are more of a guy thing. Women often can’t get past the stupid physical stuff. Which is just like real life, isn’t it?

Watch kids in a schoolyard. Which ones are on the ground wrestling and trying to stick somebody’s foot through a hole in the fence? It’s probably not the girls.

“I think most women don’t like them because of their asinine behavior, and because they mostly just punch each other,” said Maine comedian Karen Morgan. “Sure, it’s fun for the first eight or 10 times when Moe bonks Larry on the head with a hammer or pulls Curly’s nose with pliers, but at some point, we get tired of that. I compare it to watching the ‘Jackass’ movies. Guys love to watch those movies even though they’re watching other guys get kicked in the privates.”

“But that’s the joy of comedy — it is an art form,” Morgan said. “And we all find humor in different ways.”

We soitanly do.

Staff Writer Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791-6454 or at rrouthier@pressherald.com

Twitter: RayRouthier

I CAN HARDLY WAIT