The Three Stooges Were Never Funny

 

       As a kid, my parents introduced me to a plethora of classical comedic entertainment. Chief among them were some of the greatest comedic duos like Laural & Hardy and Abbot & Costello. Another comedic group from around that same time was a trio of goofballs known as The Three Stooges. From 1922 to 1970, these three schmucks tried to put the "slap" in slapstick. While I am glad that they provided boundless joy to some viewers, I must admit that I am not one of those fans. In my honest opinion, I have never found The Three Stooges to be at all funny. Energetic and somewhat engaging, maybe, but never funny. 

    For those of you who don't know or need a quick refresher, The Three Stooges was a comedy trio (Larry, Curly, and Mo) who would get into a series of hilarious hijinks and unfortunate situations, often resulting in one of the three idiots suffering physical punishment from each other. A smack across the head here and a poke in the eye there, typically resulting in Curly (the bald one) uttering one of his few catchphrases such as "OH, WISEGUY, EH? or "VOVOVOVOVOVOVOVOVO." In short, they were attempts at creating a live-action cartoon, complete with nonsensical physics and exaggerated violence, not unlike The Loony Toons at the time. 

    While I recognize that aspects of their humor can work when executed properly, in my opinion, The Three Stooges were never great at their execution. Here are a few reasons as to why. 

Repetition. 

    One of my issues with their humor is how needlessly and aggravatingly repetitive it all is. Every joke that the Stooges perform is a minor variation of one character getting punished by another via a violent gesture such as a punch or a slap. Granted, this was not the bulk of their humor, as they did perform bits where their comedy was more situational, such as trying to run a day spa with no prior experience or first-hand knowledge. Still, regardless of their situation, their punchlines were always the same. At least, they have been in the episodes of their material I've seen.

Their slapstick doesn't hit.

     Consider for a moment Laural & Hardy; one of the aforementioned comedy duos from earlier. In my opinion, they perfected the art of slapstick. Whenever one of them gets hurt, it's typically the result of an unforeseen accident or badly timed move. For example, in their most famous short film, The Music Box, where are heroes are tasked with hauling a boxed Piano up a massive flight of stairs, there comes a moment of excellently timed slapstick. Once they reach the top, they don't realize it just yet, because Laural doesn't notice that he's walking up a small set of steps leading into a nearby fountain. Before he steps into the water, his partner, Hardy, stops to proclaim, "I can't make it!" Only for Laural to retort with, "Don't weaker now, we've only got a couple more steps. Now both together!" Then, right on queue, Laural plunges back first into the fountain, getting completely soaked. 

    This was the kind of humor that Laural & Hardy excelled at: seemingly unintentional situations resulting in hilarious consequences. It is also the kind of comedy that The Three Stooges tried and failed to emulate! At least, in my opinion. 

     While the intrepid trio did find themselves in unintentional situations resulting in consequences, they were always the same: some variation of one person getting hit by another. Seeing someone get hit over the head by another person is, at least to me, not funny. Now, seeing someone get hit over the head by a falling object as a result of his slamming the door too hard, that's comedy! Because it's unforeseen, surprising, and maybe a little bit karmic. 

    Plus, there are numerous ways to provide a sense of variety when the slapstick results in proper accidents rather than deliberate violence. This, incidentally, brings me to my final point. 

Personality 

    Rowan Atkinson, the comedic talent behind Mr. Bean, Not The Nine'oClock News, and Black Addar, specializes in a comedic style focusing on attitude. In his own words, "It's not about doing funny things, but doing something quite simple in a funny way." Laural & Hardy, and by extension Abbot & Costello, had distinctive personalities that were both sympathetic and relatable. Sure, one of them would occasionally be a little selfish or mean-spirited, but it was always understandable and never permanent. 

    On the other hand, The Three Stooges all had one personality: that of an abusive jackass who thinks he's smarter than everyone else despite having the intelligence of a seven-year-old. 

    Now, I recognize that comedy, like all forms of the arts, is subjective and open to interpretation, and I admit that there were times when the stooges made me giggle a bit. I'm merely expressing my feelings on what I find to be funny. Anyone can fart on stage, but it's not automatically funny. Now, a guy who doesn't realize he's farting on stage, that's comedy.