Kook's Tour

This was the last film made by The Three Stooges. The story line deals with the Stooges, long retired, going on a camping trip to relax after their long careers. My favorite scene is when Larry tries to catch the fish. Larry was always my favorite stooge which made it sad for me to watch knowing that he suffered a stroke during the filming. Knowing that, it's really hard to laugh at this. It's still a great film to watch and interesting to see the Stooges in color. Watch this, because there will never be anything like it again. A 10/10.

The thing about the Three Stooges is that their brand of slapstick and very physical comedy has difficulty working in longer formats. Shorts that are one or two reels in length tend to be pretty fun; the lasting value of the troupe's full-length features is highly variable. With all due respect to Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita, and moreover producer Norman Maurer, the very notion of this officially unreleased TV movie raises a skeptical eyebrow. Even if the Stooges were completely reliable, this was produced years after their greatest successes, and no one was getting any younger; in keeping with the sensibilities of the TV medium the humor would probably be gentler, and one may well assume the most appeal would be one of nostalgia for folks who grew up with the comedians. Further take into account the repeated failure to launch a live-action TV series, Fine's debilitating stroke, and the subsequent shelving of 'Kook's Tour' as a project, and no matter what Maurer was able to put together as a swan song, it would very likely be more of a whimper than a bang.

Unfortunately, those reasonable doubts bear merit, and fruit. The concept has some promise, mixing a travel show with the expected shenanigans of a bunch of goofballs. Yet while the landscapes and waterways are beautiful, and the occasional wildlife is lovely, and Moose the Dog is very handsome - on the other hand, Moe's commentary is bland and milquetoast, the occasional reactions of the group to their surroundings are hopelessly artificial, and any slivers of humor are so light and thin that they're lucky to cause one or two happy neurons to fire off, nevermind provoking one to smile or laugh. The most interesting the flick gets is in the several minutes of Moose having a little adventure of his own, but in the first place this sequence ostensibly puts a canine companion in situations that he shouldn't be in, and secondly, shortly after earning a slight chuckle with an amusing gag, the script hamstrings itself by ignoring the bit it just showed us. It's not that this is specifically bad. But for the most part it's so mild that the viewing experience leaves us nonplussed.

I did have a good time, in some measure, and I can't say the film didn't earn any reactions. I appreciate what everyone involved tried to do. 'Kook's Tour' is at most a partial success, however, for the wit is modest, Maurer's direction is modest, and we're missing too much of the necessary vitality - the punch, the zest - that would allow the comedy to land. Deterioration of existing prints prior to digital preservation, impacting the image and audio quality, are not the fault of the production, but nor do they help any. With all this having been said, the good news is that in its own way the overall quality is more or less on par with other long-form titles that the Three Stooges contributed to, with some definite highlights scattered throughout. Then again, that's also the bad news, because the Stooges had a hard time consistently earning laughs with any effort that clocked in at more than about twenty-five minutes. The sum total is still worthwhile on its own merits as something simple and uninvolved, and moreover as a snapshot of the Stooges in their final years. Just don't go out of your way for it, and enter knowing fully well that you're getting into, and maybe that's the best way to get the most out of 'Kook's Tour.'

This was it, the last Three Stooges film ever made. It came decades after their heyday in almost 200 Columbia shorts in the 30s and 40s, and just a few years after those shorts being rerun on television lead to a brief revival that had the Stooges staring in several feature length films. It's an essential film for Stooge fans. Unfortunately, it's not very entertaining on its own.

'Kook's Tour' follows Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe as they retire and take their RV and boat to visit the great national parks of the American Northwest. This consists mostly of Moe narrating over footage of the gorgeous natural scenery, some comedy bits where the three attempt to be outdoorsmen, and lots of scenes of them fishing.

The most obvious knock against the movie is the washed out picture quality. The footage was basically shot as a glorified home movie intended to be a pilot for a television series that would follow the same pattern, and was virtually lost and not taken care of for decades. Even by 70s film quality, the picture is hard to watch.

Beyond that, it's just not funny. The Stooges are too old by this point for their trademark physical comedy. Even the comedic dialog falls flat more often than not. There are a few bits that warrant a nostalgic chuckle, but not enough to make up for the rest of it. This is a real shame, since they missed a great opportunity to just have the old stars reminiscing about the old times amongst each other or possibly fans they encounter.

Plans for a show were cancelled when a stroke forced Larry Fine to fully retire before production was complete. Both Moe Howard and Joe DeRita would attempt Three Stooges revivals in the next few years, but none would come to fruition. Moe made some TV appearances but died in 1975, just four months after Larry. Joe DeRita retired from show business due to failing health the same year. With Moe's brothers' Curley and Shemp both long gone by then, that was the end of the Three Stooges.

It's sad to see the end of a legendary career, especially when their last effort proved unremarkable. Stooge fans should definitely seek this out. The casual viewer is unlikely to find anything of value in it, though. If you want a taste of the Stooges, find their shots from the 30s and 40s, and don't bother with 'Kook's Tour.'

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.

Watching Kook's Tour on DVD is not going to stretch the capabilities of your player. The colors are washed out, and the sound is terrible. In fact, it looks and plays just like an old pre-video home movie! This actually works to the film's benefit, as the footage of the aging Three Stooges meeting fans and messing about in their favorite boat isn't too far off the type of shenanegans captured in the Stooges' real-life home movies that are also included on the DVD release.

It's hard to tell whether Kook's Tour would have made it as a series if Larry hadn't had his stroke. It is funny in places, but as Moe himself says, by this point in the game they were simply too old to do the eye-poke routines anymore. Yet for once the trio aren't stuck on some studio backlot - they're actually on location! And if a second episode had been made, it seems it would have been filmed in Japan. Once the bugs were worked out, the Three Stooges could well have provided TV with an early comedy-travel-reality TV hybrid!

Still, even in its reedited form, Kook's Tour has a fun spirit about it, and even with the padding, it makes for an interesting hour of viewing. It isn't their funniest work by any means, and Larry's fate makes it difficult for some fans to watch, but it's worth checking out at least once.