Movie Review: Stan and Ollie

I'm a big, big fan of the classic comedians of the 20s, 30s and 40s. My dad introduced me to a ton of them growing up and going through high school.

Abbott and Costello. The Marx Brothers. Harold Lloyd. Buster Keaton. And of course, Laurel and Hardy.

I'd seen a number of their short films - The Music Box (wherein the hapless pair try to deliver a piano), Liberty (wherein they play two prison escapees trying to change clothes, with hysterical complications every step of the way), Them Thar Hills (where the duo take a vacation to the mountains and get drunk off of moonshine-tainted spring water), Tit for Tat (a sequel to the previous short, involving a hilariously escalating feud) - as well as one of their feature-length films, Sons of the Desert. And I'd had a blast with all of them, thanks to the duo's hysterical ability for slapstick and visual comedy. To say nothing of the hilarious contrast between their characters, that of the clumsy childlike Stan and the pompous bullying Ollie.

So, it was to my interest (and surprise too, given just how LONG it's been) when I heard about a biopic made about the duo, I was intrigued.

Even more so to discover that Hardy was to be played by John C. Reilly.

So then, with that out of the way, let's take a look at Stan and Ollie.

The film initially opens in 1937, with Stan Laurel (Steve Coogan) and Oliver Hardy (John C. Reilly) at the height of their fame. In a gorgeous continuous shot, we follow the duo throw the studio backlot on the way to shooting as Stan tries to convince Ollie to stand by him in leaving the studio and negotiating a deal with Fox; as Stan feels that they're not being paid enough for their work by their boss Hal Roach. However, Ollie is still under contract and feels unable to leave, and when he doesn't attend a meeting with Fox, Laurel feels betrayed and is bitter for a number of years.

We then move ahead to 1953, where the duo reunite in the United Kingdom, going on a grueling tour of various music halls and theaters as they try to get another film greenlit (a comedic version of Robin Hood to be specific). It's hard going for both of them, due in large part to a lack of publicity from their manager, as well as problems like Ollie's health (a major concern of his wife Lucille, played by Shirley Henderson) and silence from the studio set to make their movie (which Stan tries to keep hidden from Ollie, even as he continues to script material for the idea).

Tensions between the pair come to a head at a party in their honor, and Stan and Ollie have a very unpleasant argument about their long pent-up frustrations with the other - Stan blaming Ollie for not supporting him all those years ago, and Ollie accusing Stan of not loving him as a friend and only loving "Laurel and Hardy". Despite the deep blow to their relationship, the two press on with their public appearances...

But when Ollie's health takes a sharp turn for the worse, Stan is faced with the hard realization of performing without his longtime partner, and just how important their friendship is.

It all leads to a conclusion that is both triumphant, and deeply bittersweet too.

A movie lives and dies by its star (or stars) and I'm happy to say that the two main leads of Stan and Ollie more than deliver with their performances as Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Steve Coogan does fantastic work playing both sides of Stan: the stage persona of Laurel the naïve and clumsy manchild, versus the real Stan Laurel, a reserved and weary Englishman who loves to write and perform, and also struggles with resentments over his hardships and how the glory days have gone by (best illustrated in one sequence where he notices a large Abbott and Costello poster on a London wall).

And John C. Reilly also embodies Oliver Hardy, skillfully playing the stage persona of the pompous blowhard who often suffers hilariously, contrasted nicely with the real man's struggles with his failing health, growing weariness with the stage life, and gambling addiction. That being said, it's quite plain and obvious that he enjoys performing (a charming moment in the movie is when Ollie, fuming after seeing that one of his horse race bets fell through, sees a group of kids - he quickly turns his bad mood into a little act to make them laugh, showing nicely how much he enjoys entertaining).

On their own, these would be superb performances. But together is when the magic really happens. These two seriously embody the duo's mannerisms so well - from their voices to their mannerisms onstage - that it's uncanny. At points I almost felt like I was really watching the actual Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, when seeing some of the skits that the two of them perform on stage, from the old "County Hospital" skit, to a new one invented for the film involving a train station.

The actresses playing the duo's wives do great work as well. I quite liked the chemistry that Shirley Henderson and Nina Arianda have with playing the mutual antagonism between Lucille Hardy and Ida Laurel, and how their interactions also affect their husbands' relationship as well.

All in all, I very much enjoyed Stan and Ollie. It's a straightforward, simple and yet wonderfully realized portrayal of the final collaboration of a legendary comedic duo.