The Buzz Look for Atlanta landmarks in “Stooges” movie, now playing

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The Buzz
Look for Atlanta landmarks in “Stooges” movie, now playing
April 13, 2012
Jennifer Brett
Access Atlanta


The_Three_Stooges_Movie_freecomputerdesktopwallpaper_p-300x225Although the “Three Stooges” movie isn’t officially set here (or anywhere), it’ll be clear to the audience that the movie was filmed in Atlanta.

The Farrelly Brothers comedy opens today and stars Sean Hayes, Will Sasso and Chris Diamantopoulos as Larry, Curly and Moe; along with Jennifer Hudson, Jane Lynch and Larry David as nuns and Sofía Vergara as the evil beauty who crosses paths with the Stooges.

Scenes at the orphanage where Larry, Curly and Moe grew up were filmed at a private estate in the Cartersville area, but many of the interior orphanage scenes actually were filmed on sets that were built at the Atlanta Civic Center. You’ll be able to spot the Equitable Building and the 191 Peachtree Building.

Some outdoor scenes were filmed at Piedmont Park, street scenes are obviously downtown Atlanta (with some super product placement for local beverage company Whynatte) and scenes set at a zoo were filmed at Stone Mountain Park. Party scenes were filmed at the Buckhead home of the developer known in reality-show circles as “Big Poppa.”

“It’s quite a house,” filmmaker Peter Farrelly told us during a recent interview. He and the homeowner never met, though.

Making a movie about the vintage classic trio was a challenge, Farrelly said.

“It’s the most pressure I’ve had since my honeymoon,” he joked. “We love the Stooges. We wanted to do them right. There’s a lot of people saying, it’s sacrilege to do a movie about the Three Stooges. Our take was it’s sacrilege that so many kids don’t know the Three Stooges. We didn’t want to let down their legacy.”

While les frères Farrelly are known for the gross-out gags in their movies (”Hall Pass,” which they filmed here in 2010, made me want to pour sand in my eyes), “The Three Stooges” is quite charming. The eye-poking, hammer-bonking violence is cartoonishly over-the-top and even though Vergara plays a saucy temptress with malicious intent, there’s nothing salacious in the movie. It’s perfectly fine for kids, although parents may have to explain who the Stooges were.

“It’s about three guys who love each other,” Farrelly said. “Despite how much they beat each other up there’s kind of a sweet story.”