THE THREE STOOGES (Rated PG)

The Farrelly Brothers (Peter and Bobby) have been pushing the comedic envelope ever since their first feature film, “Dumb & Dumber,” and right up to the recent “Hall Pass.”

Given their affinity for uncultured humor, it seemed only fitting that the Farrellys would be drawn to the unique style of physical comedy found in the wacky misadventures of Larry, Curly and Moe.

Surprisingly, “The Three Stooges,” which does not compromise the iconic slapstick physical antics of the cinema’s most famous knuckleheads, is at its core a heartwarming story.

Set to three episodes, the first one involves their childhood story, starting from the day that three little tykes in a duffel bag were tossed on the doorstep of a Catholic orphanage.

Even as babies, Larry, Curly and Moe had the same distinctive physical features carried to adulthood, from bad haircuts to the complete lack of physical dexterity and agility.

The orphanage is run by the no-nonsense Mother Superior (Jane Lynch), assisted by the singing nun Sister Rosemary (Jennifer Hudson) and the tyrannical Sister Mary-Mengele (crusty comedian Larry David in drag).

From day one, the good nuns of the Sister of Mercy Orphanage try to get the boys placed with adoptive parents, but to no avail, though Moe comes awfully close to being adopted by a wealthy couple.

At the start of the second episode, the boys are fully grown, at least physically, but they still live at the orphanage, serving as handymen, performing the type of jobs that take comic advantage of their misuse of hammers, mallets, saws and ladders.

The bossy, overbearing Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos), the dark-haired leader with the ridiculous bowl-style haircut, constantly expresses his intolerant indignation.

Will Sasso’s rotund, bumbling Curly is a spot-on imitation for the original Stooge whose trademark “nyuk-nyuk-nyuk” speech and outrageous physical mannerisms made him stand out from the rest of the trio.

Even in childhood, the sour-faced Larry (Sean Hayes) had two shocks of bushy hair sprouting from a bald pate, and his sad sack demeanor grew gloomier with age.  

Sadly, the only place they have ever known as home is about to be foreclosed unless someone comes up with $830,000 by the end of the month.

The troika of lunkheads heads off to the Big City in search of quick cash to save the orphanage. Hilarity ensues as they try to cope with a world completely foreign to them.

Then, the bumbling buffoons encounter a hot tamale named Lydia (Sofia Vergara, oozing sexuality), who offers the Stooges a chance at some easy money; all they have to do is put her poor suffering husband out of his misery.

Despite their relentless valuelessness, the Stooges smell something fishy in Lydia’s scheme, especially when they find out that the mark is their boyhood friend Teddy (Kirby Heyborne), a former orphan adopted by a wealthy family.

In typical boneheaded Stooge fashion, the involvement of Larry, Curly and Moe in an oddball murder plot leads to so many complications and misdirection that you can’t help but laugh at the fallout.

Another strange bit of happenstance is when Moe is mistaken for a brilliant actor and is enlisted as a new cast member of “Jersey Shore,” where he gets to slap around Snooki, the Situation and the others.  Now, that’s truly rewarding and funny stuff.

The history of the cinema has brought us many great comedy teams, from the Marx Brothers to Laurel and Hardy as well as Abbott & Costello. In this pantheon, the Three Stooges stand out for their brutal physical antics.

What the Farrelly Brothers have achieved with “The Three Stooges” is a loving homage as well as a contemporary take on the trio of time-honored boneheads.  

Causing innumerable laugh-out-loud moments, this film brilliantly recreates the classic and iconic Stooge sound effects, including “boinks,” finger snaps and Curly’s nyuk-nyuk-nyuking.  

One may be tempted to claim that the original Three Stooges invented lowbrow comedy, but their slapstick antics were hilarious. The new guys live up to this great tradition and deliver a truly funny entertainment.      

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.