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.'
