Kook's Tour

I bought a DVD called "The Three Stooges: All Time Favorites" that had "Kook's Tour" on it. I was very excited because I knew it was the Stooges' last film, although I did know that it wasn't very good. Not very good was an understatement: it's a mess. The Stooges look pretty tired and don't seem to be having much fun, and they don't do anything that made them famous. No eye pokes. No face slaps. No "Knuckleheads". Not even any witty verbal banter. This is sad.

It was sad that this was their last. But hey they were on for 40 years. Moe took care of Larry & his bros and was just a salt of the earth. They don't make men like that anymore. This was cute and would have been a nice series had Moe not finally decided to throw the towel in, after Larry got sick.

I didn't know what to expect when I put this in the VCR. Yes, I am a fan of the 3 Stooges, but this was made in 1970 and not even finished (Larry suffered a stroke while filming, and could not continue to do so)so what would it be like. First off, it wasn't really funny. I will admit there were some parts that got me laughing, but nowhere near the extent of an original short. Second, be prepared for a bad transfer of the movie. Some parts are a little hard to watch because of the bad film elements, but believe it or not, this is the best version that you can find. The original negative was lost, (as is described before the start of the movie) so this is the best 8mm transfer (which was very hard to come by) that they could find. 8mm doesn't age well and this was well over 30 years old, so it is going to be in bad shape. I actually had fun watching this, but I almost cried at the end, because I knew that Larry had already suffered a stroke and the the Stooges would be no more. I think that every Stooge fan should see this and cherish it, because it is a piece of stooge history, and it is somewhat funny. You'll like the fishing scenes with Larry, they are the funniest scenes in the movie! People say that Norman Maurer (Moe's son in Law) did a bad job at finishing and directing the movie, because he tried to make it longer with scenery and Moose the dog. I think that he did a good job considering that he didn't have much to work with. After all Larry was in bad shape and he couldn't just replace him, so he tried to finish the movie as best as he could. All in all the movie was fun but sad to watch. 7/10 Stooge wise 7/10 movie wise

I did not watch this with the expectation that Larry, Moe, and Curly-Joe would be performing as The Stooges, so I wasn't so disappointed as some. In fact, although I would have liked more bumbling and funny situations, I wished that they had been LESS "Stooge" like, and showed even more warmth and camaraderie toward each other; I was GLAD that there was no hitting. (I do rather wish Moe and Larry had worn their usual hairstyles, since it made them look a little younger and funnier, but that's no big deal.)

In my opinion, Maurer did an excellent job of making a "complete" film out of the footage, in spite of Larry's incapacitation. Being a dog-lover, I was highly amused at Moose's "adventure", particularly in the water. With all three Stooges being front-and-center in the final shot, and Larry offering the last words, the movie seemed quite nicely finished, and with a good ending joke. If I'd watched the movie without reading about it ahead of time, I would not have guessed there was a problem.

If the cinematography had been truly excellent, Disney-like, I think it would have been quite a fine travelogue-hosted-by-the-Stooges (what a concept!). Or too bad it wasn't more of a Vincent Minnelli "Long, Long Trailer" kind of thing. But it wasn't. As it is, if you accept it as a sort of giant, well-made home movie, it comes off best for you.

It is indeed poignant to muse that this was IT, after which there would be no more 3 Stooges, but isn't it nice to think that they got to be all together to make one last film, and did so in America's most beautiful natural parklands. It is pleasant to think that Larry got to experience this while he could still ambulate and move about so well. They certainly seem to be happily running around out in the woods and boating through the lakes; falling down, getting wet, watching geysers and playing with the dog. We all should be so lucky to have such a great final outing amongst our best friends.

This movie would be appreciated by Stooge fans only. The movie starts out by showing some clips of some Stooge movies, all with Curly Jo. We then see the Stooges, in full color talking about their careers and now that they are retired, they will take a vacation and enjoy the places that they have been to but couldn't enjoy because of having to perform. I have to hand it to the camera crew. There are some beautiful landscape shots that are an enjoyment to me. The Stooges travel to some state parks and fish with their dog "Moose". Larry cannot catch a fish and they are poking fun at him because of this. The Stooges use some old lines and there are just a few times that they get hit but that is more for nostalgia than any thing. I think that the funniest part of the movie is when Larry dresses up in a camouflage outfit in order to get a picture of a deer. They loose their dog so they go out to try to find him and no one can see Larry because he blends in with the scenery. Larry never does catch a fish and because of that, Larry speaks his final words on film; "I quit". Larry suffered a stroke during the filming and was unable to finish the project so Norman Maurer had to piece together this hour long film using his own hands to dub for Larry. I gave it a 9 because this film is of great value to us die hard Stooge Fans