The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 2, 2015

Note: 'The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze' is currently only available as part of volume two of Mill Creek's Three Stooges Collection.

Vicker Cavendish (Peter Forster) is a career criminal who has just finished a reading of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, and it's given him an idea for his latest scheme. He disguises himself as a man he calls "Randolph Stuart III," claiming to be descendant of a man who once wagered, and lost, that Phileas Fogg could not travel the globe in 80 days. It just so happens that Fogg's descendent (Jay Sheffield) lives nearby, and the criminal has a new wager in mind. Fogg is a wealthy man, a man of exacting needs and precise desires. So, of course, he's hired the Stooges -- butler Moe (Moe Howard), driver Larry (Larry Fine) and chef Curly-Joe (Joe DeRita) -- to help get him through his busy days. Fogg agrees to Cavendish's wager that he, too, can navigate around the globe in 80 days, and he, along with his three employees, embark on a journey that will win him some money. But Cavendish has already swindled Fogg and the bank and managed to implicate Fogg in the crime. Now, as Fogg and the Stooges circumnavigate the globe, they must deal with crazy challenges and zany scenarios while the heat is on back home.

Not going around the world...for now.

The fun play on words in the title sets the tone, and complete with a wink-and-a-nod on-screen apology to Jules Verne, The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze demonstrates how to make a near perfect parody. The film features plenty of humorous shenanigans that see the Stooges making innocent trouble along their adventures, shaped by simple ideas and simpler execution where the humor comes in the performances and the way the guys sell the routines, not in crudeness or bland popular culture references. It's never forced or fumbled, just flat-out fun bits that capably demonstrate the efficiency and timelessness of basic comedy done right.

The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze opens with a bit of wobble and shows some wear and tear throughout, but the base image holds up nicely. Light grain accentuates an attractive, well-defined image that brings out the best of complex details, including faces, period clothes, wooden crates, luggage, little background details on a boat, and more. Blacks are fine beyond some pale and worn stock shots and the grayscale is even and attractive. Note that the image is presented at 1.78:1 rather than its reported original 1.66:1 aspect ratio.

The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze features a simple Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. Dialogue is the main focus here, and it's presented with commendable clarity and center imaging (minor bouts of lip synch problems pop up throughout). Basic sound effects, like crashing luggage and breaking plates, come through with adequate definition. The track incorporates some light background ambience, but it's of course lacking that true sense of immersion that wider tracks with more channels have to offer.

The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze contains no bonus content.

The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze is a fun little Stooges adventure that feels big, plays funny, and is packed with classic Stooges moments. Mill Creek's Blu-ray features strong video, acceptable audio, and no supplements. Recommended.