Kook's Tour

The 3 Stooges are now living in retirement and are out to take it easy, even though some things do wrong, prompting Moe, always the boss to get mad. But hey, they are in retirement, so no more poking the eyes or any hair pulling.

What makes KOOK'S TOUR so maddening is that it isn't really very funny. Yet it is still an essential part of every Stooge fan's collection.

This film is, after all, the swan song of the 3 Stooges as a comedy act. The picture quality is poor because the only copy found of KOOK'S TOUR is an old 16 mm film and the color has deteriorated over time, as a grim reminder that this film is indeed something out of the distant past. It's even sadder yet when one realizes that Larry, during the filming, would suffer a stroke that would cripple him and ultimately result in his death in only 5 years.

At least one could smile at the thought that the 3 Stooges in KOOK'S TOUR are finally taking it easy and enjoying themselves in their final days as an act.

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.

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.'

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.

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.