Having been wanting to review this short for quite some time, I really must say that, similar to "Uncivil Warriors", there was a slight plot hole that I can't help but be unable to overlook.
The plot hole is this:
After the Stooges try to stuff the "body" into a barrel, a cop approaches them and, thinking that it's trash, tells them to take it somewhere else, only to later discover the dummy and think that it's an actual body.
The prime problem was that it never showed how the Stooges got away from the cop after he started chasing them. That, and it was easy to tell that Curly dubbed a piece of dialogue at the last minute in the moment he was taking the body out.
Other than that, though, this short was another that I found to be nonstop fun!
Taking the chairs of both writer and director, Del Lord definitely didn't stop making himself known as one of the best Three Stooges filmmakers around. The comedy throughout the short was literally nonstop hilarious and fun, and the way Lord was able to make a ridiculous concept so entertaining was astounding. Despite how unbelievable a person mistaking a dummy for an actual body would obviously seem, the premise worked perfectly as a Stooges short.
The performances of the cast were great as well. Despite Curly not maintaining the same kind of splendor he had before, he still gave quite an energetic and funny performance. Plus, it was nice to see Moe and Larry have equal time to shine, and the trio's commitment to their material and their ability to deeply be into what they're doing hardly ceased itself from amazing me.
In the end, "Three Pests in a Mess" was another fun-filled member of the Three Stooges filmography that was absolutely hilarious and entertaining. Additionally, it's one of the very best shorts of the fourth volume set, even with the slight flaw in the plot being clear as day.