- 9
...a thoroughly enjoyable paean...
—Manohla Dargis New York Times
- 9
All three of the leads get very close to the Stooges' old looks and personalities, but they do more than impersonate; they inhabit.
—Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly
- 7
...co-directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly tone down the abuse without compromising the numbskulls' unique style of physical comedy, making for an unexpectedly pleasant yet unapologetically lowbrow outing true to the spirit that has made the trio such an enduring comedy fixture since its bigscreen debut in 1930.
—Peter Debruge Variety
- 7
...a funny, good-hearted resuscitation of Hollywood's beloved lowbrow lunkheads.
—Todd McCarthy Hollywood Reporter
- 7
After what seems like an eternity of inanity and incompetence in the realm of Cats & Dogs and Squeakquels, the Farrelly brothers' direction is downright classical.
—Jaime N. Christley Slant Magazine
- 7
There is an appealing nyuk, nyuk nostalgic spirit to The Three Stooges6. To fully appreciate this paean to slapstick and silly nonsense simply requires that cynicism be temporarily shelved and the thinking side of the brain shut down.
—Betsy Sharkey Los Angeles Times
- 7
Pop culture references intermingle with the loopy trio's iconic foolishness, and the result is a movie with some big laughs, plenty of heart and terrible coifs.
—Claudia Puig USA Today
- 6
I didn't laugh much. I don't think the Stooges are funny, although perhaps I might once have. Some of the sight gags were clever, but meh. The three leads did an admirable job of impersonation. I think this might be pretty much the movie Stooges fans were looking for.
—Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times
- 5
...absurdly brutal slapstick is a tough thing to sustain across a feature.
—Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune
- 5
The Stooges were always better in short doses. And 90 minutes of PG nyuk-nyuk-nyuk can seem like an eternity.
—Peter Travers Rolling Stone
- 4
For starters, it wasn't a great idea to basically borrow the premise of The Blues Brothers and turn these quintessential Jewish characters (something that's not even hinted at) into the bumbling would-be saviors of the Catholic orphanage where they were raised.
—Lou Lumenick New York Post
- 4
...isn't very funny, but it is, like last year's far superior The Muppets, a sincere act of fandom on an epic scale.
—Allison Willmore Onion AV Club