Slippery Silks: When The Stooges Do Fashion

Is it worth your time?

If you've got twenty minutes and a craving for pure, unadulterated nonsense, sure. It’s peak Stooges—which means you either find them delightful or you’re ready to pull your hair out by the time Curly hits his first 'nyuk-nyuk-nyuk.' If you’re looking for a plot that makes sense, skip this one and go watch Alexander Hamilton instead. This is strictly for the people who want to see men in suits get pelted with cream puffs.

The whole premise is just absurd enough to work. Our boys, usually busy breaking things, suddenly become the proprietors of a fancy dress boutique. The fashion show sequence is the highlight here. Seeing them try to pass off furniture-inspired designs as haute couture is exactly the kind of dumb humor I live for. One dress is literally made from a window drape, and I think it might actually be more stylish than what people wore in Broadway Scandals.

The middle of the film sags a bit. It’s just the usual slapstick setup where they wreck an antique box and get themselves in hot water. You can practically see the writers trying to figure out how to get to the food fight without too much heavy lifting. It's a bit clunky, honestly.

The Messy Bits

• That one model’s expression when she realizes she’s wearing a chair cover is priceless.
• The sound design during the cream-puff fight is suspiciously loud for 1936.
• I’m pretty sure the guy in the background of the shop scene is just trying not to laugh.

There’s a real lack of grace here, but that’s the point, isn't it? When the cream pies finally start flying, the movie sheds any pretense of being a 'story' and just becomes a kinetic disaster zone. It’s messy, it’s loud, and it’s over before you can get bored. Much more fun than some of the drier dramas like The Mayor of Casterbridge where nobody throws a single pastry.

It’s not art. It’s barely a movie. But it’s a good time if you like watching people get covered in custard while wearing tuxedos. Sometimes, that's enough. 🥧