By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

1. Nyuking It Up
The trailer for the Farrelly Brothers’ upcoming adaptation of The Three Stooges came out this week. The reception hasn’t exactly been generous. Go ahead and judge for yourself…

As a lifelong Stooge fan, I’ve got mixed feelings. On one hand, it’s surreal to see anyone playing Moe, Larry and Curly except, well…Moe, Larry and Curly. In terms of their show business personalities, Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard were these characters. So to have anyone else playing them naturally feels like a cheap knockoff, especially because the classic shorts have been around for so long. Snooki of The Jersey Shore fame is also an unwelcome sight. The general public doesn’t seem to have a very favorable impression of her, which the trailer tries to take advantage of. But it reeks of the film trying to get extra publicity from her, which I don’t appreciate. The Three Stooges are American comedy icons. A movie based on their work shouldn’t need to resort to cheap tricks like that at this stage of the game.

On the other hand, the movie obviously has good intentions. If you watch some of the well-known Farrelly Brothers stuff, i.e. Dumb & Dumber, There’s Something About Mary and Me, Myself & Irene, the Stooges’ influence on their work is rather obvious. What we’re seeing here is a loving tribute to perhaps the greatest comedy team in American history. Yes, Hollywood is cashing yet again, but that’s not all we’re looking at.

The worrisome element here is that this isn’t a biopic. It’s a story starring the characters of the Three Stooges. The Farrellys are asking their three main actors, Chris Diamantopoulos, Sean Hayes and Will Sasso, to duplicate something that really can’t be duplicated. It’s one thing to be able to impersonate Curly, it’s another thing to try and capture the kind of chemistry these performers had when they were on camera together. Larry, Moe and Curly were like a torrential force of slapstick, personality and timing the likes of which is rarely seen anywhere. To have different actors simply impersonate them may not hold up very well for an entire movie, even if the impressions are pretty good, as they are here. I imagine it’s kind of like seeing an Elvis impersonator. You appreciate the tribute, but past that, does the presentation hold any water of its own? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on what the presentation consists of.

Regardless of what people are saying, I will probably end up seeing The Three Stooges out of respect for the original performers and their legacy. Moviegoers should walk in knowing that what their seeing is a tribute to these frankly amazing men and what they gave to the world. If it falls flat it’s not going to hurt the memory of the real Stooges. Plus, if it gets some younger folks to look at the old shorts, on some level it will have been worth it. This film is a big risk, but it’s a risk worth taking.

2. R.I.P. Jerry Robinson
Very sad to hear of the passing of Jerry Robinson December 7 at the age of 89. Anyone who enjoys Batman stories and the world of Gotham City should tip their hat to this man. While Bob Kane is widely credited as the creator of the Caped Crusader, Jerry Robinson was the man who developed the original looks of characters like The Joker, Alfred and Two-Face. He also came up with the name “Robin” for Batman’s young sidekick.

There’s some controversy as to what Robinson’s role actually was in the creation of The Joker. As the story goes, he came in with a joker playing card as the inspiration for a new villain for Batman. Conflicting stories have been told about how extensively Robinson was involved from there. But Robinson is generally credited as the man who created the character, and played a key role in the creation of a franchise that continues to thrill fans young and old to this day.

Robinson was also a major advocate of creators’ rights, and notably supported Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in obtaining credit and compensation for their work on the character.

In a press release, DC co-publisher Jim Lee said: “Jerry Robinson illustrated some of the defining images of pop culture’s greatest icons. As an artist myself, it’s impossible not to feel humbled by his body of work. Everyone who loves comics owes Jerry a debt of gratitude for the rich legacy that he leaves behind.”

Front page image from marquee.blogs.cnn.com. Stooges and Robinson images from latimes.com.