Carrot Top would make a good Larry.
This would be the Larry of the Three Stooges. The new film adaptation of Larry, Moe and Curley’s nyuk-nyukian misadventures, aptly titled “The Three Stooges,” has been out for about a month. The movie is currently 10th in the most recent box office list of top films, having grossed a little less than $40 million.
The film stars Sean Hayes as Larry, Will Sasso as Moe and Chris Diamantopoulos as Curly. The fine cast, direction by the often-hilarious Farrelly Brothers and the familiar Stooges brand, has offset some lackluster reviews (it registers a 47-percent ranking on Rotten Tomatoes). As Peter Travers of Rolling Stone writes, “For the Farrellys, 'The Three Stooges' is a labor of love. For nonbelievers, it's merely a labor.” And from the New Yorker’s David Denby, “The movie is so infantile that it achieves a special kind of purity and gentleness.”
Infantile? Pass the popcorn!
How the Topper relates to the Stooges is that many years ago -- he estimates eight to 10 -- the tireless prop comic was enlisted as a possible member of a “Three Stooges” film project. This was before he performed as a regular headliner at the Luxor, the period after his AT&T commercials and after he starred in the 1998 feature film “Chairman of the Board” and played a large role in “Dennis the Menace Strikes Back.” These were not the greatest representations of cinematic art, of course, but the roles did spark interest in a casting company seeking actors to audition for a “Three Stooges” project.
Carrot Top was a natural, for his orange shock of hair and genuine affection for the Stooges. Years ago, he and Leslie Nielsen co-hosted a series of American Movie Classics presentations of “Three Stooges” shorts.
“Wanted me to play Larry, and we were in preliminary talks about it,” Carrot Top (real name: Scott Thompson) said in a phone interview this afternoon. “We were looking at the idea of creating an updated version of the character. Would I love that? Of course. What I loved about the Stooges, and it’s the same with the Marx Brothers, is that it was so stupid, it was funny. It was slapstick, but at the same time it was brilliant.”
The project dissipated, and Hayes (best-known for his scene-stealing gay character Jack in “Will & Grace”) was tabbed for this year’s film.
Carrot Top is regularly contacted for film and reality TV show concepts. He is not fond of traditional unscripted shows and winces at the idea of a camera crew following him around for hours each day. But some sort of hidden-camera concept appeals to him. He’s also been approached about playing a version of himself in a film franchise, the easiest example being the old “Ernest” films, which were far less funny than Carrot Top’s stage show at the Luxor.
“It would be mostly for young adults. My Q rating says I do well with young adults,” he said. “There has been talk, but nothing has come of it.”
Carrot Top has always been funnier onstage than on the screen -- a concert film of his Luxor show would probably be the most effective way to corral his comic acumen.
“Whatever I would do,” he says, “would have to revolve around what I do in Las Vegas.” As they say, he already has a pretty good gig.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.
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