The Three Stooges (2012 film)  The Three Stooges (promoted as The Three Stooges: The Movie) is a 2012 American slapstick comedy film based on the film shorts from 1934 to 1959 starring the comedy trio of the same name. The film was produced, written and directed by the Farrelly brothers and co-written by Mike Cerrone. It stars Chris Diamantopoulos, Sean Hayes, and Will Sasso, re-creating the eponymous characters played by Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard. The film's story places the Stooges in a modern setting. After over a decade of casting problems, principal photography took place from May to July 2011. The film was released on April 13, 2012, by 20th Century Fox. The film is composed of three acts, which are referred to as episodes (a reference to how the original "Three Stooges" short films were packaged for television by Columbia Pictures).  35 years in the past, the children at the Sisters of Mercy Orphanage are playing soccer with an old soda can in the front yard. But then, Sister Mary-Mengele, the meanest and strictest nun in the orphanage gets their attention by telling them to go inside and do their work. Later, three destructive infants, Moe, Larry, and Curly are dumped on the doorstep of the orphanage from an unknown person's car. Ever since, the trio has wreaked havoc in the place, leaving the nuns who run it utterly terrified, especially Sister Mary-Mengele, who has always hated the trio. Ten years later, out of desperation, when a prospective couple comes to adopt, the exasperated nuns bring out the trio as being the only three available, eventually being forced to add a fourth when another boy, Teddy, enters the picture. The couple, the Harters, decides to pick Moe, but when he requests Larry and Curly to join him, he is dropped back off at the orphanage, and they choose Teddy instead. When he goes back to the orphanage, Moe lies to Larry and Curly that the reason he came back is because the Harters were going to make him do chores.  25 years later, in the present, the trio are adults, still living at the orphanage and working as maintenance men. Monsignor Ratliffe arrives to give everyone an important message. After Monsignor Ratliffe tells Mother Superior that the orphanage is going to close, she tells Sister Mary-Mengele to get the trio.