PG, 1h 37m – Biography, Comedy, Drama
Opens Today
Watching “Stan and Ollie,” a film that details the final few years of the iconic Hollywood pair, it took me about 45 minutes to finally accept what the movie was striving for. Call me cynical if you want, but I kept waiting for some villainous character to pop out of the shadows and tear apart the famous partnership. Luckily for audiences, this film is much simpler and nuanced than that.
John C. Reilly (Oliver Hardy) and Steve Coogan (Stan Laurel), respectively, play the world’s most famous comedy duo, who attempt to reignite their film careers as they embark on what becomes their swan song – a grueling theater tour of post-war Britain. I found the decision to focus on the final few years of the duo’s career a smart one. Too often biopics tend to be a condensed audit of a subjects life where a lot of important (or accurate) material tends to slip through the cracks (see “Bohemian Rhapsody”).
Placing the time frame primarily during the final 2-3 years of Laurel and Hardy’s partnership alleviates that problem and allows the friendship and chemistry of these two men to take center stage, and that is the films greatest strength. Reilly and Coogan do some of their best work here, with John C. Reilly in particular giving one of his best performances behind the excellent character make up designed by Mark Coulier.
When you think of Laurel and Hardy, you think of slapstick comedy and laughs. The film certainly has that, including some of their most famous cinematic bits placed into the narrative of the movie, but it is the drama that pulls at the heartstrings the most. Stan and Ollie may have been great performers, but they were lousy businessman. It was a shame that they both struggled to find the next paycheck during the end of their careers.
From the opening minutes showing Laurel and Hardy chewing the fat in their dressing rooms (which features a great single-shot take) to the final moments of the two men riding into the sunset of their colorful careers, “Stan and Ollie” opts to show the verisimilitude of the characters instead of a career spanning film with cheap laughs. This film is about friendship and partnership. Love and art. It is charming, heartfelt and a perfect remedy to the doldrums of late January releases.
Stan and Ollie is out now. You can follow this movie on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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