Senorita Rita
2004-03-06 01:53:28 UTC
Hello, you nitwits, you! =)
I found this page through a link from another Stooge site and I've
been lurking here for a coupe of weeks now. While browsing through the
topics in this newsgroup, I found several posts about Curly and Shemp,
and the age-old debate of who's "better." In particular, James N.'s
posts interested me. So I thought I'd add my $0.02. First of all,
theres not a fair way to compare these two. Curly and Shemp is like
apples and oranges. Although comedy can be subjective, there's no
doubt that they were both very talented. Personally, I find them both
very funny, but they had completely diffent comic styles, and worked
under different conditions. I think Shemp is hilarious, with his
subtle asides and impeckable timing. He brought a worldliness, and
dare I say, wisdom(?) to the Stooges that they rarely showed in their
earlier films. Perhaps this comes from the fact that Shemp himself was
not only a middle-aged man at that point, but a well-seasoned actor.
His Stooge charachter was, IMO, an amalgamation of all of the roles he
had previously played. He could be moody, bossy,timid, incredibly
quick-witted in one scene, and absolutely dumb in the next, depending
on the situation. It made his charachter more realisic and relatable,
even in the craziest Stooge plots. Shemp is everyone's favorite
uncle, or colorful next-door neighbor. Watching the Stooges was like
watching eccentric older relatives when Shemp was part of the team.
There have been many times that I've gotten a bigger laugh out of
Shemp than Curly...but there's something about Curly that makes him so
much more interesting.
What Jerry Howard did was something that very few performers have
been able to sucessfuly accomplish, which is to create an entirely
separate being who lives somewhere outside of our own reality. Curly
was a combination of average Joe and grotesque, other-worldy
individual. He was both obnoxious and endearing. Child-like and
experienced. Angelic and impish. Silly and genuine. Seemingly insane,
yet generally well-meaning. But no matter how outlandish he got, he
always made you BELIEVE in Curly. As a result, the audience is able to
believe in Moe and Larry and their over-the-top antics. Together,
they were the ego, the super-ego, and the id. The combination of Moe,
Larry and Curly was so perfect, and once Curly left, the dynamic of
the team and their films changed, for better or worse. There were
funnier films in later years, but gone was the great "triad", the
artistry, and the multi-level (sur)realism of the Boys' earlier work.
Could the charachter of Curly exist on his own? Maybe, but not in
the same capacity. Neither could Moe. Shemp's charachter, however,
could be effective in any scenario. So could Larry. Was Shemp a better
actor? Well, he definitely proved himself to be more versatile. But to
be fair to Curly, he never had the chance to prove himself as an actor
outside of his Stooge role. I would have liked to see him do something
different, but for whatever reason, he didn't. Maybe then critics and
fans could realize just how brilliant a comic he was. Was Curly a
comedy genius? I would have to say yes. And I would even put him in
the same category as Chaplin, NOT in terms of artistic freedom and
creativity (because unfortunately the Stooges had little creative
control over their films,)but in terms of creating a unique entity,
free of sarcasm or irony. I think Moe was briliant as well. He's my
favorite stooge one of the most underrated actors of all time.
Well, better quit before I start rambling. LOL
I found this page through a link from another Stooge site and I've
been lurking here for a coupe of weeks now. While browsing through the
topics in this newsgroup, I found several posts about Curly and Shemp,
and the age-old debate of who's "better." In particular, James N.'s
posts interested me. So I thought I'd add my $0.02. First of all,
theres not a fair way to compare these two. Curly and Shemp is like
apples and oranges. Although comedy can be subjective, there's no
doubt that they were both very talented. Personally, I find them both
very funny, but they had completely diffent comic styles, and worked
under different conditions. I think Shemp is hilarious, with his
subtle asides and impeckable timing. He brought a worldliness, and
dare I say, wisdom(?) to the Stooges that they rarely showed in their
earlier films. Perhaps this comes from the fact that Shemp himself was
not only a middle-aged man at that point, but a well-seasoned actor.
His Stooge charachter was, IMO, an amalgamation of all of the roles he
had previously played. He could be moody, bossy,timid, incredibly
quick-witted in one scene, and absolutely dumb in the next, depending
on the situation. It made his charachter more realisic and relatable,
even in the craziest Stooge plots. Shemp is everyone's favorite
uncle, or colorful next-door neighbor. Watching the Stooges was like
watching eccentric older relatives when Shemp was part of the team.
There have been many times that I've gotten a bigger laugh out of
Shemp than Curly...but there's something about Curly that makes him so
much more interesting.
What Jerry Howard did was something that very few performers have
been able to sucessfuly accomplish, which is to create an entirely
separate being who lives somewhere outside of our own reality. Curly
was a combination of average Joe and grotesque, other-worldy
individual. He was both obnoxious and endearing. Child-like and
experienced. Angelic and impish. Silly and genuine. Seemingly insane,
yet generally well-meaning. But no matter how outlandish he got, he
always made you BELIEVE in Curly. As a result, the audience is able to
believe in Moe and Larry and their over-the-top antics. Together,
they were the ego, the super-ego, and the id. The combination of Moe,
Larry and Curly was so perfect, and once Curly left, the dynamic of
the team and their films changed, for better or worse. There were
funnier films in later years, but gone was the great "triad", the
artistry, and the multi-level (sur)realism of the Boys' earlier work.
Could the charachter of Curly exist on his own? Maybe, but not in
the same capacity. Neither could Moe. Shemp's charachter, however,
could be effective in any scenario. So could Larry. Was Shemp a better
actor? Well, he definitely proved himself to be more versatile. But to
be fair to Curly, he never had the chance to prove himself as an actor
outside of his Stooge role. I would have liked to see him do something
different, but for whatever reason, he didn't. Maybe then critics and
fans could realize just how brilliant a comic he was. Was Curly a
comedy genius? I would have to say yes. And I would even put him in
the same category as Chaplin, NOT in terms of artistic freedom and
creativity (because unfortunately the Stooges had little creative
control over their films,)but in terms of creating a unique entity,
free of sarcasm or irony. I think Moe was briliant as well. He's my
favorite stooge one of the most underrated actors of all time.
Well, better quit before I start rambling. LOL