Sean Penn is no "Stooge"

So much for Sean Penn playing Larry in Peter and Bobby Farrelly's film "The Three Stooges." Variety reported yesterday that Penn, citing "personal reasons," has pulled out of both "The Three Stooges" and director Asger Leth's drug drama "Cartel." It's not clear who will replace Penn in the Farrellys's long-gestating comic romp, or if the funny filmmakers will wait for the Oscar winner to return to work. (Last fall, before Penn was on board, Peter Farrelly told us that Jeff Daniels, who was in "Dumb & Dumber," would make a good Larry.) The Farrellys are hoping to shoot the film in their native Rhode Island, and the stellar cast includes Jim Carrey as Curly and Benicio Del Toro as Moe. The nature of Penn's problem hasn't been ID'd, but the actor and his wife Robin Wright have twice recently announced their intention to divorce only to reconcile. Penn has two movies already in the can - "Fair Game," about outed CIA agent Valerie Plame, and Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" - and was rumored to be looking at roles in two other films, including Paolo Sorrentino's "This Must Be the Place" and Jim Sheridan's "Black Mass," the Irish filmmaker's movie about Whitey Bulger.