IS NEW STOOGES BIO OLD HAT? SOITENLY!Byline: David Kronke Television Critic Funny thing about show-biz biopics - doesn't matter who you were, doesn't matter where you came from or what you achieved, your biopic bi·o·pic n. A film or television biography, often with fictionalized episodes. biopic Noun Informal a film based on the life of a famous person [bio(graphical) + pic(ture)] will for us on your unlikely origins, your dedication to your craft, your wild ride to the top, your stormy days and either (usually in theatrical releases) your spectacular flame-out or (in TV movies) your (however untruthful) spectacular comeback. Only in TV movies could last month's ``The Audrey Hepburn Story'' and tonight's ``The Three Stooges'' seem so alike, and so synthetic. At least tonight's offering has a couple of good performances, some finely burnished bur·nish tr.v. bur·nished, bur·nish·ing, bur·nish·es 1. To make smooth or glossy by or as if by rubbing; polish. 2. To rub with a tool that serves especially to smooth or polish. n. cinematography cinematography: see motion picture photography. cinematography Art and technology of motion-picture photography. It involves the composition of a scene, lighting of the set and actors, choice of cameras, camera angle, and integration of special by Rob Draper and subjects who don't always take themselves so oppressively seriously. ``The Three Stooges'' offers precisely what it suggests - a once-over- lightly of the nyuckleheads and a once-over-even-more-lightly of their personal lives, interspersed with what fans (which are mainly, as everyone on the planet - save, perhaps, my dog - has pointed out, are guys) would call their classic routines. In flashbacks, we follow Moses Harry Horowitz - or, as we more popularly know him, Moe Howard (Paul Ben-Victor) - as he leads his brother Samuel, or Shemp (John Kassir), and later Jerome, the chrome-domed Curly (Michael Chiklis) through the vaudeville motions with buddy Lawrence Feinberg, a k a Larry Fine (Evan Handler). They're second bananas to an egotistical palooka pa·loo·ka n. 1. Sports An incompetent or easily defeated athlete, especially a prizefighter. 2. Slang A stupid or clumsy person. [Origin unknown. named Ted Healy when Hollywood comes calling, which almost torpedoes their chances at fame and fortune. For Shemp, it's all too much: ``I'm tired of all the rough stuff,'' he whimpers, ``the slaps, the pokes - I don't want to do it anymore.'' Luckily, Curly's more adept at slapstick slapstick Comedy characterized by broad humour, absurd situations, and vigorous, often violent action. It took its name from a paddlelike device, probably introduced by 16th-century commedia dell'arte troupes, that produced a resounding whack when one comic actor used it to than his brother, and eventually they become stars at Columbia for their ageless capacity for thwacking, slapping and konking one another senseless. Just as their fame is on the wane, their stuff turns up on TV and wins over a new generation of fans. The film, for its own reasons, dwells unduly upon the fact that the Stooges felt unappreciated because, unlike, say, the Marx Brothers, they were never given the opportunity to appear in feature movies, just shorts. Well, for one thing, in a Marx Brothers movie, chances were pretty good that 20 minutes after a particular joke, they'd be coming up with a completely different joke, whereas chances were iffy if·fy adj. if·fi·er, if·fi·est Informal Doubtful; uncertain: an iffy proposition. [From if. that after 20 minutes, the Stooges would be doing much different than poking eyes and smacking smack·ing adj. Brisk; vigorous; spanking: a smacking breeze. Noun 1. smacking - the act of smacking something; a blow delivered with an open hand slap, smack noggins. For another thing, although the film doesn't admit this, it's wrong: Late in their career, the Stooges in fact were given a couple of starring vehicles - and they stunk stunk v. A past tense and the past participle of stink. stunk Verb a past of stink stunk stink . Local unions may not want to hear this, since the film was shot in Australia, but it has a nice look to it, and Handler does surprisingly graceful work as Larry, while Chiklis (``Daddio'') has his moments as Curly. Ben-Victor, as team-leader Moe, has to do much of the thankless heavy lifting: Who on Earth could make ``It's not just me you're wearing out - it's the welcome mat'' sound like anything but halaked shtick shtick also schtick or shtik n. Slang 1. A characteristic attribute, talent, or trait that is helpful in securing recognition or attention: ? Come to think of it, how much poignancy can you wring out of guys who built their legend painlessly bludgeoning one another to hell and back, anyway? THE FACTS --The show: ``The Three Stooges.'' --What: Biopic on the comedy icons. --The stars: Paul Ben-Victor, Evan Handler, Michael Chiklis, John Kassir. --Where: ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. (Channel 7). --When: 8 tonight. --Our rating: Two and one half stars. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Michael Chiklis, left, Evan Handler and Paul Ben-Victor star as the title characters - Curly, Larry and Moe, respectively - in ``The Three Stooges,'' tonight on ABC. Box: THE FACTS (see text) |
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