From: matrix29@charter.net   
      
   "Derek Janssen"  wrote in message   
   news:A8Cyl.105$Nk3.25@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...   
   > Frank J. Lhota wrote:   
   >   
   >>   
   >> The real Stooges may not be the most versatile actors around, but they   
   >> were masters of physical comedy. They learned their craft from years of   
   >> Vaudeville, and through the many live performances that they continued to   
   >> make even after they started making films. Del Toro and Penn will only   
   >> have a few months to get up to Moe and Larry's level. I fear that the   
   >> results won't be very funny.   
   >   
   > They also had a burlesque-stage sense of synchronization that three   
   > separate actors (one of which specializing in Humor of Over-The-Top   
   > Annoyance) can't just coldly replicate overnight, out of just fan-geek   
   > imitation...   
   > Michael Chiklis in the TV biopic has nothing to worry about.   
   >   
   > Derek Janssen   
   > ejanss1@verizon.net   
      
       I personally think the casting is pretty bad.   
      
       Jim Carrey should be playing Moe.  He can be aggressive and very   
   coordinated.  Moe was a character that nobody loved, but he kept the team   
   together.  The only problem with using Jim Carrey as Moe is in the voice and   
   Jim's seriously irritating "Spazz Factor" (brought to supremely irksome   
   levels in entirely joyless horribly soulless "The Grinch" movie --- the kind   
   of film that begs for all of the character actors and director to be   
   disemboweled and fed back their greasy organs as their life ebbs away).   
   Carrey proved he can "tone it down to an indoor voice" level of audience   
   repulsion in the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and he could   
   do a decent Moe if he doesn't try to cram the concept of him playing Moe   
   Howard down out gullets like a pushy Jewish mother.   
      
       Sean Penn can play "passive" and unfortunately he does it too damn well.   
   Larry Fine is a character who tetters between content fantasy and aggressive   
   unsuccessful bossiness (because Moe is there to slap Larry back down).  When   
   Moe isn't near, then Larry slips into a light daydream mode (at this point   
   the default character of Sean Penn) that is when all of the accident-prone   
   comedy kicks in.  Sean Penn can play Larry if he played Larry like Keanu   
   Reeves played the character of "Neo" in "The Matrix" series of movies.  The   
   character of "Neo" was basically an emotionally-numb-dumbass (the default   
   state of Keanu Reeves) who took upon himself a path of grand adventure,   
   which would be deadly injurious to any sane human being, and then only   
   showed the emotion of anger when nobody would accept Neo's delusion of "This   
   is my world, I'm merely tolerating your living in it" mindset.  Toss in a   
   sprinkling of lady-watching and you've got the Stooge character of Larry   
   Fine.   
      
       Curly is the hardest to cast.  Most people see the Curly character as an   
   oversized-child dimwitted accident-prone tagalong.  To some degree it is a   
   correct description of the character yet a totally wrong overestimation of   
   the ease of the role.  Curly is your standard "audience reaction" device in   
   that he builds up suspense for the upcoming gag.  Doing so to sell the gag   
   correctly however is a whole bit tougher than it appears in timing and body   
   language.  CURLY HAS TO BE LIKABLE.  This cannot be emphasized enough.  It   
   is very important that Curly (or Shemp) (or Joe) not be played as the butt   
   of all the gags and he must "win" enough gag climaxes to keep the audience   
   happy.  Curly is a "jolly fat man" character without the great one-liners.   
   I can easily think of 20 talented men who could play Curly with ease and do   
   it very well.   
      
       None of the listed actors for this movies right now could properly play   
   Curly or Shemp or Joe.   
      
       Nathan Lane could do a good Curly, but he'd have to tone down the "Diva   
   drama" aspect of his characters and play Curly like a "Likable Dimwitted   
   Janitor Guy" without hogging the spotlight.  That is still just one of many   
   folks I can effortlessly imagine playing Curly very well if they applied   
   themselves properly to the role.   
      
       ========   
      
       Moe is the "incompetent abusive daddy" character who is hated by the   
   audience to a degree in that he constantly has to hit "his boys", but he   
   does care about the well-being of "his boys" even though neither of "the   
   kids" are aware of that.  Moe is a screwup yet he sets off all of the major   
   story plot points.  Moe is liked because he never gives up on chasing   
   success and never really is able to achieve it (because of bad luck or the   
   accident-prone actions of Larry or the Curly).  Moe is a simmering pot of   
   frustration and anger that is restrained until a big screwup happens to   
   spoil Moe's plans.   
      
       Larry is the dreamer who knows Moe has always failed him as a leader and   
   Curly in the big schemes.  Larry really doesn't give a serious damn about it   
   though because Larry prefers to be led unless the work gets too hard and   
   then Larry drifts off to daydream-world (which leads to a plan-killing   
   accident usually).  Larry is not so much for the work part of any plan, but   
   he is always daydreaming too damn much about the payoff for Moe's plans.   
   Larry likes Moe until Moe is pissed off.  Larry likes Curly except when   
   Curly tries to take Moe's role.  Larry is all about the payoff and never   
   focuses on the boring work to get there.  Larry also feels he is smarter   
   than both Moe and Curly, although he rarely boasts about it for the fear of   
   an immediate backslap from Moe.   
      
       Curly is the overgrown child character.  Big chubby and powerful.  Much   
   stronger than both Moe and Larry.  Curly is willing to take conflicting   
   orders from both Moe and Larry as Curly is submissive to both up to the   
   point that he is getting blamed for the immediate problems.  Curly is a hard   
   worker who tends not to get into accidents unless he is distracted by an   
   outside influence.  Curly is a perfectionist and also lacks the   
   fine-motor-skills dexterity to achieve perfection which leads to frustration   
   and slipping into angry force-escalation.   
      
       In short --   
       Moe is the schemer and the job finder.   
       Larry is the dreamer who gets bedazzled by the prize before getting   
   halfway to the finish line.   
       Curly is the likable child-like work-a-holic who is prone to get   
   blindsided by outside forces or screw up on over-obsessing over the tiny   
   details.   
      
       (Shemp being the argumentive "cowardly lion" who is often clever, but   
   gets confused easily)   
       (Joe being the confused workhorse who panics easily and overestimates   
   his skill to the point of accident)   
      
       =========   
      
       The only thing I can think of is to train the boys to synchronize using   
   Waltz music (slow pace with distinct movement cues).  Once they get trained   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)