Last year brought a lot of bad news. Businesses continued shedding jobs at a record pace, universal health care fell apart, and celebrities were dropping like flies. But undoubtedly the worst news of all was that the Farrelly Brothers’ dream project of a Three Stooges movie starring Sean Penn as Larry, Benicio Del Toro as Moe and a fat Jim Carrey as Curly – NOT a dramatic Three Stooges biopic, mind you, but a brand new Three Stooges movie told in classic Three Stooges style – was cancelled as Penn dropped out to salvage his marriage. The Farrellys’ dreams were crushed along with the dreams of people who love horrible, horrible movies, the kind of cinematic travesties that make one doubt the existence of a just and loving God.

But in the months since, Robin Wright moved out for good and Penn is dating a different model every week, paving the way for the triumphant news that Penn is back on board. Best known for his hilarious performances in films like Dead Man Walking and Mystic River, Penn’s sense of humor is legendary, as displayed by incidents like the time he dressed down Chris Rock at the Oscars for an innocuous monologue joke about Jude Law (who Penn called “one of our finest actors”). In sad news, fat Jim Carrey may no longer be available since he hasn’t had time to get sufficiently fat. Let’s hope another comic actor of Penn’s pedigree steps into those shoes: maybe Christian Bale? Crispin Glover? Morgan Freeman?