THE THREE STOOGES COLLECTION VOL. 2: 1937-1939  [NR]

Hello! - Hello! - Hello! Sony,

On behalf of Stooges fans everywhere (including the three documented females who don’t just pretend to like them for the sake of keeping the peace with their men), we thank you. The fact that you are finally giving us what we really want — all 190 “Three Stooges” shorts released from 1934 to 1959 and released chronologically — is most gracious of you. This second set is nearly poifect (and we would gladly have paid twice the $24.98 SRP, you numbskulls).

Of course, we cursed you for years for releasing themed collections with no more than a half dozen shorts on a disc, making us re-buy the same collections we had paid nearly the same price for on VHS. What knuckleheads you took us for, all while moidering our video budgets. And while mixing Curly and Shemp shorts, too.

Soitenly, we forgive you. Last year, when you released the first volume of all the Stooges shorts from 1934-1936, we were all “Woo-woo-woo-woo!” Still, we were a little hesitant to start clearing space on our DVD shelves, for fear of looking like imbeciles. We remember back to 2002 when you released the entire first season of “The Larry Sanders Show,” and then did nothing with the other five (and that “Best Of” set doesn’t count, ya wise guys).

We don’t care that there are no special features on the 2-disc set, either. Under better soicumstances, sure, we would have liked some behind-the-scenes footage. Maybe you can license that nifty A&E “Biography” episode on the Men In Black-And-Blue? Or make a program based on One Fine Stooge, Stephen Cox’s and Jim Terry’s book on Larry Fine? Or call in a favor over at Disney and get them to loan you that great Stooges TV movie biopic from 2000 that shows up on cable every once in a while.

Lack of supplemental goodness notwithstanding, this is The Three Stooges at their best (but you guys know that ’cause you own ‘em). Jerome “Curly” Howard was still relatively healthy (despite all the cheese he ate), so he, brother Moe and longtime third Larry were still able to make it really seem like they were actually knocking the bag out of each other. Man, looking over the contents, there are 24 prime shorts here, including Grips, Grunts and Groans, Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb and perhaps the most fun one of them all, Violent Is The Word For Curly (in which we’ll forever be “Swinging The Alphabet”). Repeat after us… “B-A-bay, B-E-bee, B-I-bicky-bi, B-O bo, bicky-bi bo, B-U bu, bicky bi bo bu.”

Anyway, please feel free to release another volume this year. We’ll be ready and waiting to nyuk-nyuk-nyuk it up again, especially in that Volume 3 will contain possibly the best short of their whole 25-year run, 1940’s spoof You Nazty Spy! (which predated Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator by nearly a year).

Sincerely,
Every Living Person With A Y-Chromosome (And Those Three Girls)