My Episode Review on The Three Stooges: Hoi Polloi

Yo, what's up, Kemosabes?

This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.

Today, I'm gonna give you guys my take of the Three Stooges's "Hoi Polloi".

Here's the rundown of it:

During the lunch hour at a restaurant, two professors by the names of Richmond and Nichols debate over what it is that makes a man a gentleman: Environment. Or Heredity.

Wanting to prove that his theory is correct, Richmond bets $10,000 that he can transform a commoner into a gentleman. Three people to make it a greater challenge.

In the midst of leaving the restaurant, the professors find three men that they believe would be the perfect subjects of their experiment and wager: The Three Stooges. However, their eccentric personalities, antics, and habits do more than just endanger Richmond's chances of winning the wager.

Similar to every other Three Stooges short I previously reviewed, I decided to analyze "Hoi Polloi" next simply because I chose to. When I was first getting into the Three Stooges, I often watched this one right after seeing "Pop Goes the Easel", so it was a short I saw more than once. A gigantic nostalgia rush ran through me every time I thought about "Hoi Polloi" lately, which made analyzing it all-the-more tantalizing.

So, what do I think of "Hoi Polloi" after all these years?

I really can't deny it, "Hoi Polloi" is what I'd like to classify as one of the Three Stooges's best works.

For instance, the direction by Del Lord, and the story and screenplay by Felix Adler and (uncreditably) Moe's wife, Helen Howard, were awesome!

The concept of the Three Stooges being guinea pigs to become gentleman was something that I found to be unique even for its time, and I can tell straight away that it was one of the Stooges's most inspired of projects. The humor throughout the short was also some of the most hilarious I ever watched, because all of the jokes were very creative, excellently-executed, and genuinely innocent. One of the best moments was when the Three Stooges were taking a dance lesson, because everything that transpired during that time was hysterical and fit the Stooges's style of comedy beautifully.

The acting and characters were fun as well.

As with every Stooge short I previously reviewed, the Three Stooges themselves practically owned the screen. Every moment with them was extremely amusing, and the way the trio captured their on-screen personas's struggles to actually become gentleman was not only humorous but very accurate. The performances of the supporting cast members were fun too, especially that of Harry Holman as Professor Richmond.

Throughout the short, I also noted that there was a phenomenally large amount of character development too. Especially during the party.

In conclusion, "Hoi Polloi" is an absolutely hilarious and fun Three Stooges short. One of the most creatively-inspired members of the trio's filmography too.

So, I rate "Hoi Polloi" a solid five out of five stars.