THE THREE STOOGES (2012)

THE THREE STOOGES is a comedy film in which three friends - Larry, Curly and Moe - attempt to raise money to save the orphanage in which they were raised. The film was originally classified 'PG' for cinema release after cuts were made to remove some potentially dangerous behaviour that children might copy. This DVD version contains the uncut version of the film and has therefore been classified '12' for dangerous behaviour which appears in a slapstick context.

Throughout the film the characters of Larry, Curly and Moe are repeatedly involved in slapstick scenes in which they inflict comical violence on each other or have comical accidents. They are frequently seen to slap each other round the face, poke each other in the eyes, hit others on the head with a collection of items including hammers and chainsaws, or fall off buildings. Their behaviour also leads to other characters being hit by buses, falling under road sweepers or being attacked by lions. All these moments are portrayed in a cartoonish, over the top, slapstick manner and no-one comes to any serious harm. At the end of the film, but before the end credits, there is a also a short message from the film makers showing how the slapstick scenes were achieved. They point out that items such as the hammers are made of rubber and that it would be very dangerous to copy anything shown on screen. They also demonstrate that the occasional 'eye poking' is simulated and should not be copied. However, there are a few scenes that were removed from the cinema version in order to obtain the company's preferred 'PG' certificate and these scenes have been reinstated in this DVD version. These consist of a verbal reference to playing with matches, a scene in which a vegetable peeler is used on a man's head, a scene in which curling tongs are used on a woman's tongue, a scene in which a cheese grater is used on a man's foot and a scene in which a man's head is placed in a microwave. Because these sequences involve everyday domestic items and the dangers are not made apparent, they breach the terms of the BBFC's Guidelines at 'PG' which state there should be 'No detail of potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy'. Therefore, this uncut DVD version of the film is more appropriately classified at '12' where the Guidelines state 'Dangerous behaviour [...] should not dwell on detail which could be copied'.

The film also contains some mild crude humour with jokes about 'boogers' and breaking wind. There are some mild sex references as a woman's curvaceous figure is admired by the men and her breast is heard to make a comic car horn sound when a man comically stand on it while getting help to climb over a wall.

Parents can find additional information about the content of this film if they visit www.pbbfc.co.uk.