"When the writing divides them, they lose their comic dynamic." Jon Solomon
"I'm not gonna steal your wife, I'm engaged to three beautiful girls." Larry assures Moe, and we must be watching one of those Shemp era adult shorts. What thoughts I have of you tonight, Benny Hill - as a scene finds Larry in the office of his Pet Store, smoking an enormous, and enormously phallic, cigar. His secretary enters, and he tells Miss Lapdale to take a letter - she assumes a business as usual bussiness-like position on his lap.
I'm not even in a supermarket, let alone California. I, like you now, are securely in the aforementioned Shemp's Era.
Lo, tho we might be in Shemp's era, there is no mistaking this is a Larry short. He takes center-stage for a rare glimpse at the top spot. Interestingly, Larry was the lead in the first ever Stooges short, "Woman Haters," prior to Moe's probably eminent emergence, and also in 1946's "Three Lone Wolves." If you're keeping track at home, Larry-in-the-lead works none-to-well as compared, at least, to boss Moe. The more natural lead, is the man in the lead.
Moe went so far as to in real life file Larry's taxes (and Curly's too). The Top being a stay-at-home-dad to the Bottom's bread earning. But I become overly personal here as the cheap-o stogie in my mouth loosens my fingers --
In fairness, I believe Larry's go at lead had less to do with this lesser Three Stooges offering than did the advancing age of the Stooges; coupled with a production value that sadly left much to be desired. We see tentative pratfalls here that editing does not lend aid too.
Crisp has left the building, and is half dead on the toilet - speaking in terms of physical comedy alone. Dialog-wise there are a few glimpses of gems, such as Moe's knock at clean-living, "I'll have a little bird seed if you don't mind," upon turning down philandering Larry's offers of a cigar, then drink. Don't drink, don't smoke, what do you do? Stuart Goddard, are you still awaiting this answer - it's been since '82. Apparently you become a bird. Or a faygala.
Still, that only covers the tip of what went mildly wrong here - age and/or editing. We'll file that all under technical difficulties. More importantly at off-putting issue, I feel, leads us back to our onset quote from keen-eyed Saturday Night Live writer, Jon Solomon. I'll begin with an echoing...
I've never been a fan of divisiveness amongst Stooges.
One last word on difficulties of a technical bent before I advance further: the tinkling of a glockenspiel associated with Larry's bright ideas, I found it sci-fi odd to the point of sci-fi unnerving. Perhaps that was its goal?
[Full digress]
Divisiveness in Stoogery
It simply but not so simply plays poorly with/and against the all important 'we the Stooges vs the Them' strangers in a strange land feel, which I've cited before here. Separate characters, per say, are not the issue here - competitiveness, however, is.
As Honest Abe ably put it, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Least of all a house that is built on exposing being on the wrong end of othering to comedic effect. Perhaps that is why this all hurts me so, my fellow others, othered me, by othering one another. Oy vey! Which of us will assimilate first, and buy a Subaru? Or shop at Whole Foods. Or crack middle management. Or not be a black enough first black Commander-in-Chief...
All told, while there have of course been better shorts, "He Cooked His Goose" is not without its charm. A rapscallion charm which comes by way of a certain circa 1952 naughtiness in both subject matter and gags. Perhaps, if I might be so bold as to offer yet another tangent:
this is where Shemp gets his bad rap. His slap-stick is not his claim to fame, his ugly mug and naughty dialog fill that spot. It's like aging fine wine in a boiler room, to the untrained eye. Just as Lenny Bruce is no longer bluest of blue. It all makes sense to me now.
As far as tangents go, that was mercifully abbrevia --
Final Grade: C+