Stoogemania is a 1986 film about a fan of the Three Stooges. It was directed by Chuck Workman, and starred Josh Mostel. The film experienced an extremely small theatrical release and was poorly received by critics. It has been out of print since the 1980s, and has been released on VHS and Beta. As of February 2007, it hasn't been made available on DVD.
Plot
The film centralizes around Howard F. Howard (Mostel), a casual Three Stooges fan. He's engaged to his girlfriend (Melanie Chartoff), and life seems to be going well. More recently, he's been starting to see the Stooges wherever he goes. To save his life and his relationship, he seeks the help of a renowned Stooge psychologist (portrayed by Sid Caesar, one of the stars of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, which featured the Stooges in a cameo as firefighters). Unfortunately for him, this is a very serious epidemic which has apparently swept the nation. The doctor gives him medicine, which unfortunately are the wrong ones and are in fact sleeping pills. To his dismay, Howard still sees the Stooges everywhere. He ends up going to "Stooge Row", a seedy part of Los Angeles located between the fictional "Shet Up St." and "Nyuk Nyuk Blvd." To combat this, a sanitarium known as Stooge Hills is created. While in an all-Stooge burlesque house. While there, members of Stooge Hills (including a young James Avery) commit everyone in there to the sanitarium. Over a rigorous program, everyone is deemed cured. During the graduation ceremony, to prove that the Three Stooges are no longer funny, they play a few shorts. However, everyone comes to terms and realize "we love these guys". Howard gets married, and the film ends on a happy note.
History
Stoogemania was made in an attempt to cash in on the Three Stooges' sudden resurgence in popularity during the 1980s, thanks to syndication and Jump N the Saddle Band's The Curly Shuffle. The film was in no way endorsed by Columbia Pictures or the Three Stooges copyright holders. Only four shorts are shown throughout the film, all of which are in the public domain: Sing a Song of Six Pants, Malice in the Palace, Brideless Groom, and Disorder in the Court.
Notes
• During the graduation scene, the head of Stooge Hills is talking about them being cured and being deemed normal for society. However, in a few shots when they pan to the graduates, the actor playing him can be clearly seen in the audience.
• In the United Kingdom, the film was released under the title Party Stooge.
• Unknown at the time, a young Victoria Jackson, who would later play "Weird Al" Yankovic's girlfriend in the cult classic UHF and become a regular player in Saturday Night Live, played a nurse at the fictional Stooge Hills.
• Another unknown at the time, James Avery (Uncle Phil on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), played one of the Stooge Hills goons who captured Howard in the Stooges themed burlesque house.
Further reading
- Moe Howard and the Three Stooges; by Moe Howard [1], (Citadel Press, 1977).
- The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion; by Jon Solomon [2], (Comedy III Productions, Inc., 2002).
- The Three Stooges Scrapbook; by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg [3](Citadel Press, 1994).
- The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons; by Michael Fleming [4](Broadway Publishing, 2002).
- One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry [5], (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).
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