I Can Hardly Wait (1943) Online

As a kid, in general, the Three Stooges (four if you count Shemp, who had his great moments in spurts) were like the wise-old sages of everything that went with good comedy. Sometimes they went for satire (like their anti-Nazi shorts 'You Nazty Spy' and 'I'll Never Heil Again'), but for the most part just went for the best, repetitive things about going after one another. But what's also forgotten though is that, when done on repeat viewings (and this short in particular has been seen by me over 20 times in my lifetime), the dialog also rings of a certain wit that seems to go at something even smarter to compliment the physical stuff. It's stupid, of course, but it isn't dumb-stupid; my parents would often crack up just as much if not more. The Stooges had good writers, and a short like 'I Can Hardly Wait' is a bit of proof of that.

Moe, Larry and Curly basically break into a kitchen to get a late night snack for themselves (just cooking is hilarious, like with the bit of business with a certain missing ham), and during an attempt to eat a ham-bone, Curly gets a collision with his tooth. It then leads to his fellow Stooges having to devise ways to get the tooth out, which leads to a climax the following day at the dentist's office. It's one of the funniest of any Three Stooges climax, as the slapstick is sort of saved for more of the inspired, even intricate lunacy parts leading up to it (like Curly's reaction to Moe in the dentist's chair). I don't know if it's really the 'best' Stooges short, as it would be difficult to classify one as such. But it is one of the funniest, if only from a point of view of a certain sentimental attachment. It's goofy, but it doesn't pander to either adults or kids. In a way a short like this, among others, can be even better family entertainment than the tripe animated or new-slapstick films released in theaters. On top of this, it isn't even much dated- the idea behind a toothache is omnipresent, even if technology may have by now crept up to the dentist's office.

My favorite part, by the way, is the little song Curly sings as he cuts the bread- priceless.

This is without a doubt the funniest of the Curly shorts and probably my all-time favorite 3 Stooges short. The one liners that Moe throws off in this one are classic! The first time I saw this one it left me laughing my head off. Some of the abuse that Larry and Curly take in this one leaves the viewer wondering if they did not receive some real injuries. Stooge trivia books, though, said Moe perfected his hand slap on his fellow Stooges. There is one funny moment where you can tell a fall was taken by Curly Howard's stunt double (as was the case in many other features). If you have not seen this one look for it on cable or buy it on video. I guarantee you'll watch it time and time again as I have over the years.

The Three Stooges (Moe, Larry and Curly) are defense workers who have just come home after a long day at the plant. Oddly, the fact that they are working for the war effort is NOT explored in this film--it sure looked like it would be when the film started. I guess they just had this element in the story to make the film more patriotic and timely due to WWII. Soon, the real plot of the film is evident--Curly has a bad toothache and needs his tooth pulled. Considering that this is ALL the plot the film has and that about 80% of the film takes place in their house, the overall effect is amazingly claustrophobic and simple. Some on IMDb have said this is among their best. While I would agree that the gags work pretty well and it's enjoyable enough, the plot and locale prevent this from being a truly memorable film. Still, it does feature Curly, and this is always a big plus.

"I Can Hardly Wait," generic title aside, is a very funny little movie that may get lost in an overall list of "Stooge Classics," perhaps because of it's modesty. No outlandish plot, no elaborate sight gags, no mile-a-minute action. Just a simple story about Curly and his sore tooth, with Moe and Larry trying their best to yank it out (in typical stooge fashion,) before finally dragging him to the dentist. This film works more like a Shemp era short, with minimal scenery, a bare bones cast, and an overall "sitcom" feel (as opposed to the full-blown farce usually associated with the Curly era.) The "dream" aspect was also a unique idea for a Three Stooges short, one that would be used only a few times in their 190 films. While it may not be one of their all time greatest, "I Can Hardly Wait" is a solid comedy that will appeal to Stooge fans and fans of comedy in general.

Just watched this on AMC and it's a classic. How it gets a 6.0 rating here despite the high votes here is beyond my understanding of the IMDb rating system.

The scenes on the triple bunk bed are hilarious, and watching the whole thing collapse near the end with a sandwich of stooges is the best!

"I Can Hardly Wait" is by far one of the best three stooges films there are. I've watched this episode so many times I've got it memorized. It is funny with the Triple Bunk Beds and the beginning is great to. If your a three stooges fan, then you need to see this if you haven't already.

I Can Hardly Wait (1943)

**** (out of 4)

Moe, Larry and Curly are trying to split a piece of ham and an egg. Poor Curly gets left with the ham bone and after trying to eat it gets a tooth ache. The rest of this short has Moe and Larry trying to figure out a way to pull it.

I CAN HARDLY WAIT is in my opinion one of the best of the Three Stooges shorts. The film has one terrific laugh after another and some of the best gags that you're going to see in any of their movies. There are so many great moments here but there's no question that the second portion is just pure madness. The boys are trying to get ready for bed but the tooth needs to come out. This leads to a variety of violent gags where Curly has to play the victim to Moe's over-the-top ways of pulling the tooth. The gag dealing with the three story bunk bed is pure classic. Even the first portion of the film dealing with them cooking manages to get some big laughs.

Starring Curly Howard, Moe Howard, and Larry Fine, "I Can Hardly Wait" is an OK Three Stooges short dealing with dentistry. Stupid Curly tries to chew a ham bone and - what do you think? - he breaks a tooth. Larry and Moe spend the rest of the short trying to extract it.

Highlights: Without any words spoken, Moe sees Curly holding Moe's tooth and thinks he extracted it! Curly mistakes a doorknob for his bad tooth. Upon the Stooges' first appearance, they appear to be cracking a safe, but they are merely raiding the fridge. Curly lays in Moe's bunk bed, popping the cork in his hot water bottle and spraying water in Moe's face; Curly then steps on Moe's & Larry's faces as he climbs upward towards his bunk bed. When Curly discovers he accidentally sliced a loaf of bread in a spiral, he actually tries to play it like an accordion with Larry singing, but Moe heartily disapproves with a double slap; Curly then gives him the raspberry, and Moe's arm appears and sprinkles salt on Curly's tongue.

Watching "I Can Hardly Wait" reminds me of a story I once read about a dentist who actually had a Three Stooges room at his practice. He reasoned that his younger dental patients would relax much more if they watched Three Stooges shorts while he took care of their teeth. What a terrific idea! Oh, by the way, don't listen to Curly singing "She Was Bred in Old Kentucky". It's bad.

"I Can Hardly Wait" is one of the best Three Stooges short subjects ever. Lots and lots of laughs and slapstick comedy in this one. Moe, Larry, and Curly are perfect here, making me laugh out loud like they did in many of their other films. Oh no, the stooges sleeping in another triple bunk bed? I think anybody who has ever watched The Three Stooges automatically knows what's going to happen when a triple bunk bed is featured. I don't even have to say it. I'm sure everybody knows the final result. Hilarious.

This Three Stooges short begins with Moe, Larry, and Curly eating rationed food in their house. Then Curly has a toothache from something he ate with Moe trying to get that painful tooth out. I'll stop there and just say there's quite some really funny business concerning all those attempts to get Curly's tooth out whether by Moe or some of the dentists they visit. So that's a high recommendation for I Can Hardly Wait.

"I Can Hardly Wait" is an American black-and-white short film from the days of World War 2, so this one actually has its 75th anniversary this year. Director White is a 4-time Oscar nominee and the script is by Clyde Bruckman, who is mostly known for all his collaborations with Stoneface Buster Keaton. It runs for slightly under 19 minutes, which makes it a bit longer than your average Three Stooges short film from back in the day. Curly is still on board here and the subject is toothache and as a consequence dentists also play a major role here, so this one may be especially effective and/or interesting to those who fear the annual dentist visit. The tooth must out for Curly, but until it does a lot of pain and suffering is included. Not just for Curly, but for all Stooges, especially Moe. Here we have an early occasion of dream sequence use in film. I am generally not the biggest Stooges fan, but this one here was fine I guess. Sure here and there we get the usual pointless unfunny violence, but there are also many entertaining moments. It's a pretty fast and pretty creative work I'd say and Curly really is at his best here in terms of physical acting. He was genuinely funny sometimes and so was the entire film. Maybe it was not as good as it was on first watch, but still quite funny on several occasions and this one with the unusual title for the trio is among my big favorites from them, a definite contender for number one and for best short film of the year 1943. If you want to take a dive into the Stooges gigantic body of work, then this one may be a good choice to start with. I highly recommend checking it out. Strangely this one, unlike many other of their far inferior works, was never remade. Anyway, go see it. You certainly should.

Another insipid Bruckman script. There is a dream sequence in this , Bruckman could ruin a ...dream. Again most of the funny bits are what Bruckman stole, this time from Laurel and Hardy and from two different films. Curly's kerchief is EXACTLY the same as Stan's in Leave um Laughing, right down to the twisting. Other gags from that film and "Pardon Us."

Why is there a dream? Nothing happens in the dream that couldn't happen without it. The dream adds nothing. Bruckman does not understand the Stooge Universe, he thinks there has to be be a reason for what they do. He also just throws in bits of orphan dialog, having nothing to do with anything, just to have someone say something. Out of no where Larry says," Hold MY head up."

Brucky writes some general situations and expects the Stooges to make them funny. They do pretty well, but it's all disjointed. The whole dinner episode is just a joke, then another one, then another one. But they don't lead to the next one. Moe blatantly puts his hand on a slice of bread.Curly spreads mustard on Moe's hand. ( "Pardon me I thout you was a slice of ham. I never saw a slice of ham with fingers." What kind of joke writing is that? If he never saw a ham with fingers, why did he think it was ham?) Curly washes a piece of ham. A spiral cut loaf of bread leads to a yodel fest? You don't need a story writer for any of that.

Somehow the Stooges keep this from being totally unwatchable, but Bruckman's presence even screwed up the title. Originally called "Nothing But the Tooth," which is in line with other punning titles, somehow it got changed to "I Can Hardly Wait" because it's a line he wrote for Curly. It's such a great line he has Curly repeat it 3 or 4 times early in the flick.