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.
