Making a movie about the most iconic comedy trio in history is a death wish. Honestly, it usually is. You’re trying to replicate the physical genius of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard—men who spent decades perfecting the art of the "eye poke" and the "double take." But when ABC released the TV movie The Three Stooges in 2000, something weird happened. It didn't suck. In fact, The Three Stooges 2000 cast managed to pull off a feat that most big-budget reboots fail at: they captured the sadness behind the slapstick.
Produced by Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions, this wasn't just a collection of sketches. It was a gritty, often heartbreaking look at the business of being funny while getting screwed over by the studio system.
Paul Ben-Victor as Moe Howard: The Scowling Heart
Most people think of Moe as just the guy with the bowl cut who hits people. Paul Ben-Victor understood he was much more than that. He was the business manager. He was the "mother hen." He was the one who had to tell his brothers and friends that they were essentially broke despite being the most famous faces in the world.
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Ben-Victor’s performance is the anchor of the film. He plays Moe with a simmering intensity that feels real. You see it in the scenes where he's negotiating with Harry Cohn (played by a wonderfully slimy Linal Haft). Moe wasn't just mean; he was protective. Ben-Victor captures that "older brother" energy perfectly, especially when dealing with the health spirals of his younger brother, Jerome (Curly).
The makeup department deserves a massive shout-out here. Getting that bowl cut to look natural on a modern actor is a nightmare, but they nailed it. More importantly, Ben-Victor nailed the voice—that raspy, authoritative bark that wasn't a caricature but a character.
Evan Handler as Larry Fine: More Than Just the Middle Man
Larry is always the hardest Stooge to pin down. He’s the "middle man," the guy who just reacts. But Evan Handler, who many know from Sex and the City or Californication, brought a specific kind of "checked-out" brilliance to the role.
Larry Fine was a violinist. He was a gambler. He was a guy who just wanted to have a good time and didn't really care about the politics of Columbia Pictures. Handler plays Larry with a specific kind of whimsical detachment. While Moe is stressing about contracts and Curly is losing his mind, Larry is just... there. It’s a subtle performance. It had to be. If you overplay Larry, you ruin the chemistry of the trio. Handler understood that Larry was the glue that kept the two extremes from spinning off into space.
Michael Chiklis as Curly Howard: The Tragic Clown
Let’s be real. This is why you watched the movie. Michael Chiklis, before he became the terrifying Vic Mackey on The Shield, was the only person on the planet who could have played Jerome "Curly" Howard.
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It's a transformation.
People forget that Curly wasn't actually a "woo-woo-woo" guy in real life. He was shy. He was an introvert who loved his dogs and struggled with fame. Chiklis plays the duality of "Curly the Star" versus "Jerome the Man" with devastating accuracy. The scene where he suffers a stroke on set is genuinely hard to watch. You see the light go out of his eyes, and it’s a reminder that the physical comedy we grew up laughing at came at a massive physical cost.
Chiklis didn't just do the voice. He did the movement. The way Curly walked—that specific, high-stepping shuffle—is harder to do than it looks. Most actors would have looked like they were doing an impression. Chiklis looked like he was inhabited by the spirit of a man who was literally laughing his way to an early grave.
The Supporting Players That Made it Work
It wasn't just the main three. John Kassir (the voice of the Crypt Keeper!) played Shemp Howard. Shemp often gets a bad rap as the "replacement" Stooge, but the 2000 film treats him with immense respect. Kassir shows us the Shemp who was an original member, the one who left to find his own success and then came back out of loyalty when Curly couldn't do it anymore.
Then you have Marton Csokas as Lou Costello. It’s a brief moment, but it highlights the era’s competitive nature. The film paints a vivid picture of the 1930s and 40s Hollywood landscape—a place where you were only as good as your last short film and where the studio literally owned your face.
Why the 2000 Biopic Ranks Above the 2012 Reboot
There’s a reason fans of the original shorts tend to prefer the The Three Stooges 2000 cast over the Farrelly Brothers' 2012 movie. The 2012 film was a love letter to the shorts. It was a modern-day slapstick movie. It was fun, sure, but it felt like a long episode of the show.
The 2000 film was a love letter to the men.
It tackled the "Stooge-itis"—the literal physical damage these guys took. They weren't using fake hammers most of the time in the early days. They were actually hitting each other. The biopic doesn't shy away from the fact that Moe was a bit of a tyrant or that Curly’s lifestyle was a mess. It makes them human.
The Accuracy of the "Eye Poke"
If you're a die-hard fan, you're looking for the technical details. How did they handle the sound effects? The 2000 film used the original Foley sounds. When Moe bops Larry on the head, it's that specific, hollow "clonk" that we all know.
The actors spent weeks with a choreographer to get the timing right. Slapstick is basically a dance. If you're a millisecond off, the illusion breaks. Ben-Victor, Handler, and Chiklis practiced the "two-finger eye poke" (which is actually a hit to the forehead or bridge of the nose, for those wondering) until it was muscle memory.
What Most People Get Wrong About the 2000 Movie
A common misconception is that this was a low-budget TV movie that didn't care about history. That’s just wrong. The script was based on Michael Fleming’s biography The Three Stooges: From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons. It's a meticulously researched book.
The film covers:
- The early Vaudeville days with Ted Healy (the guy who basically "created" them and then treated them like dirt).
- The transition from stage to screen.
- The tragic decline of Curly's health.
- The eventual "re-discovery" of the Stooges by a younger generation in the 1950s.
It's a complete arc. It doesn't just give you the highlights; it gives you the grime.
The Harry Cohn Factor
You can't talk about the Stooges without talking about the "White Ghost" of Columbia Pictures. Harry Cohn kept the Stooges on a string for decades. He would tell them that the shorts weren't popular, use that as an excuse to deny them raises, and then pocket the massive profits the shorts were making in theaters.
The movie captures this power dynamic perfectly. It’s a masterclass in how Hollywood used to chew up talent. Seeing Moe, in his 60s, realizing that the studio had been lying to him for twenty years is one of the most powerful moments in the film. It's the moment the mask of the comedian slips, and you just see a tired, aging worker.
Watching it Today: A New Perspective
If you haven't seen it since it aired on ABC back in 2000, it’s worth a re-watch. In an era where we are obsessed with "prequels" and "origin stories," this stands out because it doesn't try to be "dark and gritty" for the sake of it. It’s just honest.
The legacy of the The Three Stooges 2000 cast is that they made us care about the men behind the "Nyuk Nyuks." They didn't just play the characters; they played the legends.
Next Steps for Stooge Fans:
To truly appreciate what this cast did, you should compare their performances to the real-life footage.
- Watch the 1934 short "Punch Drunks." This was one of the first times you see the trio's chemistry fully formed. Pay attention to Curly’s movement and then re-watch Michael Chiklis in the biopic. The accuracy is startling.
- Find the "lost" interviews. There are a few rare audio recordings of Moe Howard from the 1970s where he talks about the studio days. It’ll give you a whole new appreciation for Paul Ben-Victor's vocal performance.
- Read the Michael Fleming biography. Since the 2000 movie is based on this, it's the best way to separate the "Hollywood drama" from the actual facts of their lives.
The Stooges' story isn't just about comedy. It's about survival. And this specific cast told that story better than anyone else ever has.