The fame of the Three Stooges is such that one is nominally aware of them long before watching anything they made. To sit and watch their works, whether shorts or full-length features, that renown is less sure-footed. In one measure or another the troupe's films are entertaining, yes, but the quality ranges from wonderfully funny to only passively amusing, and depends a lot on how much one appreciates their particular brand of slapstick. I mean no disrespect to anyone involved when I say that this 1963 picture falls more into the latter category: enjoyable, but not making a significant lasting impression. If you're looking for something extra light on a lazy day 'The Three Stooges go around the world in a daze' may well fit the bill; beyond that, don't spend too much time thinking about it.
As with their contemporaries and forebears we're treated to a retinue of gags, situational humor, witty dialogue, and abject silliness on top of the expected slapstick. Some of these bits really are a blast, and are very clever; others are more blithely droll, or in the case of the Stooges' perpetual knocking of each others' heads, just grow tiresome quickly. I'm given to understand that a couple routines are recycled from past movies, which is no worse than what other comedians have done, and these help this to earn a laugh or two; then again, one loses its charm as it's repeated several times. Then there are the more plainly questionable odds and ends: as our characters travel around the globe, filmmaker Norman Maurer and screenwriter Elwood Ullman demonstrate that they know no more than maybe five things about any other culture, and sometimes no more than one; the only stand-out quality of Turkey, for example, is the apparent bad reputation of its prisons. At the same time, there are little details all throughout - signs seen in the background, scene writing, the performances into which the supporting cast is guided, and so on - that just come off as... well, they haven't aged well. And on top of all this, the writing is just all-around thin, very much trying one's suspension of disbelief if not also one's patience; some moments are worse than others, reducing the intended high energy of some instances to empty bluster.
From lacking vitality and hollow zest to sometimes flimsy storytelling and more outwardly dubious facets, there is sadly a fair amount of the feature that just doesn't really pass muster sixty years on. All this is unfortunate, because despite its troubles I do like 'Around the world in a daze' more than not, and it's well made. Even if participants' contributions were guided to ends that raise a skeptical eyebrow, everyone did a fine job in general: stunts, effects, costume design, hair, makeup, sets, cinematography, editing, and so on. The cast is swell. It's just that I think I specifically laughed only twice the whole time, and the film is of the sort that will provide a reasonably good diversion for ninety minutes before being rather forgotten. And hey, there's nothing inherently wrong with that; sometimes that's all a flick needs to be. Given the Stooges' status as icons, however, one expects more of them, and I don't think they don't fully deliver in this case. I'm glad for those who get more out of this than I do, and who altogether admire the group and love all they do; as far as I'm concerned, though, while 'The Three Stooges go around the world in a daze' might earn a recommendation, it's only a soft one.
As with their contemporaries and forebears we're treated to a retinue of gags, situational humor, witty dialogue, and abject silliness on top of the expected slapstick. Some of these bits really are a blast, and are very clever; others are more blithely droll, or in the case of the Stooges' perpetual knocking of each others' heads, just grow tiresome quickly. I'm given to understand that a couple routines are recycled from past movies, which is no worse than what other comedians have done, and these help this to earn a laugh or two; then again, one loses its charm as it's repeated several times. Then there are the more plainly questionable odds and ends: as our characters travel around the globe, filmmaker Norman Maurer and screenwriter Elwood Ullman demonstrate that they know no more than maybe five things about any other culture, and sometimes no more than one; the only stand-out quality of Turkey, for example, is the apparent bad reputation of its prisons. At the same time, there are little details all throughout - signs seen in the background, scene writing, the performances into which the supporting cast is guided, and so on - that just come off as... well, they haven't aged well. And on top of all this, the writing is just all-around thin, very much trying one's suspension of disbelief if not also one's patience; some moments are worse than others, reducing the intended high energy of some instances to empty bluster.
From lacking vitality and hollow zest to sometimes flimsy storytelling and more outwardly dubious facets, there is sadly a fair amount of the feature that just doesn't really pass muster sixty years on. All this is unfortunate, because despite its troubles I do like 'Around the world in a daze' more than not, and it's well made. Even if participants' contributions were guided to ends that raise a skeptical eyebrow, everyone did a fine job in general: stunts, effects, costume design, hair, makeup, sets, cinematography, editing, and so on. The cast is swell. It's just that I think I specifically laughed only twice the whole time, and the film is of the sort that will provide a reasonably good diversion for ninety minutes before being rather forgotten. And hey, there's nothing inherently wrong with that; sometimes that's all a flick needs to be. Given the Stooges' status as icons, however, one expects more of them, and I don't think they don't fully deliver in this case. I'm glad for those who get more out of this than I do, and who altogether admire the group and love all they do; as far as I'm concerned, though, while 'The Three Stooges go around the world in a daze' might earn a recommendation, it's only a soft one.