I have never been a huge fan of The Three Stooges....and you might want to keep this in mind as you read this review. I am not a die-hard fan but I have enjoyed some of their earlier films. But their latter pictures have never interested me--mostly because the replacements for Curly and Shemp were just not nearly as entertaining. In their last films, Curly Joe DeRita played this third Stooge and the films, in general, are very tame compared to the earlier films. Sure, there's some slapping and bonking...but less than normal. And, the comedy bits in these full-length pictures are a bit tired....just like you'll find in "The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze".

Like their latter films, it's full-length and features the Stooges in secondary roles. I am not sure why the studios did this, as they were very popular...and the other characters in the films were pretty limp. In many ways, it was as if the Stooges were guest stars who appeared here and there in other folks' movies.

The story involves some crooks that come up with a terribly convoluted and difficult plan. They'll rob a bank and place the blame on Phileas Fogg III--a relative of the famous guy from "Around the World in 80 Days". And, while Fogg is traipsing about the world trying to win a new bet (traveling around the globe without spending any money),he won't realize that the police will be chasing him. As for the Stooges, they play Fogg's three servants who accompany him.

Let's cut to the chase. Although this is supposed to be a comedy, it's really NOT funny. Part of it is because they recycle some overly familiar old material (such as having Curly Joe go mad and start beating up people when he hears the tune "Pop Goes the Weasel"....exactly what Curly did in the 1930s "Punchdrunk" and Shemp did in the 1940s "A Hit With a Miss". They also used the Maharajah gag.....which wasn't funny the first times the trio did them. Overall, a film which wastes the Stooges' talents and which, inexplicably, made money.

It's now the 60s and Phileas Fogg III great grandson of the original Fogg of Jules Verne's famous story makes a similar bet with a couple of crooks who have just robbed the Bank of England and thrown suspicion on him. But instead of a Cantinflas like man Friday he has three house servants who accompany him. Guess who those servants are?

There's a twist to this bet. Jay Sheffield has to do it all without spending a dime or working for passage. No credit cards allowed. But as Moe says he's fortunate to be employing three of the biggest chiselers around. The Stooges are ingenious at finding ways to travel on the arm.

Like in the book and the Mike Todd extravaganza the super punctual Phileas Fogg finds some romance in India and in this case it's stranded Joan Freeman from Council Bluffs, Iowa.

My favorite bit is how the guys drive the Chinese Communists crazy by resisting brainwashing techniques. Quite simple, they're too stupid for them to have any effect. Shades of The Manchurian Candidate.

Another good piece is Curly Joe's attempts at Sumo wrestling. You have to see this one.

Stooge fans should approve.

I've never been a big fan of the later Stooges. I think their best on-screen efforts were in the 1930's and 40's. Curly and Shemp had died in 1952 and 1955, long before this movie came out.The last time we saw Curly on film was 1947, and trying to replace him with pale imitations just didn't do it for me (at least Shemp was his own Stooge). Joe DeRita tries his luck at filling Curly's shoes in this one, but it just makes you miss the real Curly all the more.

All adults are familiar with this Jules Verne tale, and this movie just adds two Stooges and Curly-Joe. Old Stooges routines are best seen in the original shorts, not rehashed with a fake Curly that lacks charisma.

With a cast of Americans putting on bad foreign accents, the boys attempt to make the trip around the world. A few chuckles follow, but it's hardly worth the 94 minutes it takes to get this over with. If there is nothing else on, this might be worth a watch, but with over 100 channels available......