There's 2 stories in this Shemp-tacular; one is an all-new romp. The other is a classic farce.
The opener answers an age-old question that has plagued Stooges fans for decades: did Shemp and Curly know each other? The answer is: they sure did!
Here, Shemp is sent a package intended for the guys by mistake. When Shemp heads over to Casa Stooge, he finds the house in shambles. A mysterious message scrawled on a notepad leads Shemp to search for his friends while daydreaming he's secret agent, Shemp Suavely. Upon getting mistaken as a G-man by real spies, Shemp does everything in his power to protect the misdelivered mail and save his friends!
The classic story involves the guys getting swindled by con man Benedict Bogus as they try to raise funds for a family in need. The fellas decide to go diving for sunken treasure. But they're gonna need a diving bell to do it. Tricked into buying a real bell, the guys might not realize that they're sitting on a literal gold mine as their new antique is revealed to be worth millions!
The story where Shemp gets mistaken for a secret agent was pure gold. It was quite different from your typical Three Stooges short. It wasn't formulaic. Plus, despite being a tad aloof about things, the otherwise scaredy cat Shemp was rather heroic in this adventure. He just didn’t know he was ever in danger!
The classic tale was pretty good too. This is the second time I've encountered this con man character. I don't remember him from the shorts. So he must have been just for the comics. He reminds me of Brer Fox, always trying to get Brer Rabbit into becoming the fox's next meal through some kind of swindle. He's really one-note and honestly isn't really needed. In fact, I feel like he detracts from the real stars of the story. But since this was a classic story, I can't fault American Mythology for the baddie's inclusion.
But why did the editors pick this story for this special? While Larry and Moe select Shemp to be the diver for the sunken treasure, this really isn't a Shemp centered comedy. Like I have hinted to prior, I know that other American Mythology specials carry reprints of classic Three Stooges comics. So maybe all of the good Shemp stories had already been republished?
Kinda like when listening to a Queen song. Even the bad ones are good. This wasn't a terrible Shemp tribute. But it didn't seem to be 100% about the greatest Stooge of them all either. But I enjoyed it because it was devoted to my guy! Now here's hoping for a Curly Joe retrospective!!!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
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