Stan & Ollie

I was really bowled over by this film Stan & Ollie. Steve Coogan as Laurel and John C. Reilly as Hardy were so dead on in their performances. I really thought I was looking at the real Stan & Ollie off screen in private moments.

With a couple of flashbacks to the late 30s the film was a story of both Laurel and Hardy in their last days. Said last days consisted of a tour in the British Isles and a promise of yet another feature film shot in the United Kingdom and it would have been a Robin Hood kind of satire with Ollie as one obvious choice as Friar Tuck.

Things don't go as planned and Hardy's health is giving out. Ironically it was Stan who had the health problems before. They had made a film Bullfighters in 1945 and then Laurel had issues that kept him off the screen for 7 years. Ollie in that time did appearances with John Wayne in The Fighting Kentuckian in a sidekick role and as one of many comic actors in a memorable bit in Frank Capra's Riding High. The two did Utopia in 1952 and it was a bomb.

The film emphasizes and it's important to remember than neither of them owned any of their films. They made millions for producer Hal Roach yet it was only a straight salary they were paid. Laurel had been married multiple times and Hardy had a gambling problem.

So the guys are in Great Britain on tour because they need the money and hope to do one more film where they would share in the profits and have a more than comfortable old age. Sadly it doesn't work out that way. This film will tell you why.

What I liked best about Stan & Ollie is the chemistry between Coogan and Reilly in their characters. Newer comedy teams like Abbott&Costello and Martin&Lewis were in their prime just as Stan & Ollie were going into decline, but they had their well publicized spats and eventual breakups. These two guys never had those kind of incidents.

It was also nice to see Nina Arianda and Shirley Henderson as the last wives of the boys and the relationship of the four. Laurel was married 5 times and Hardy thrice. Wives and former wives were also an expensive proposition.

I think all Laurel and Hardy fans should see Stan & Ollie. And if you see this film make sure you acquaint yourself with their comic genius.

Set during Laurel and Hardy's final stage tour of the UK and Ireland in 1953, the film serves as a beautifully visual and scripted character study of the pair at the tail end of their career.

At the heart of the film are two great performances by Steve Coogan and John C Reilly as the eponymous duo. The recreation of their look, voices, mannerisms and routines seems flawless and unforced. The contrast between their screen personas, that made their films a success and their actual personalities off screen, is plausibly portrayed. There is good support from Nina Ariande and Shirley Henderson as Mrs Laurel and Hardy, whose spiky relationship mirrors that of their respective husbands' on screen characters.

The film shot with a keen eye for the period, using some interesting close shots angled through mirrors to capture the pair's expressions and wider sweeping ones to show audience's response. There are some neatly timed comic scenes of their life imitating their art.

A fine balance of humour and poignance.

I didn't go into this as a Laurel and Hardy fan and wasn't expecting too much. Imagine my surprise twenty minutes in when I was absolutely engrossed. Reilly and Coogan were excellent as our 2 leads. I've seen enough Laurel and Hardy to know they really nailed it. The film itself was about their later years when their stars had faded a bit and they were on a tour of the UK. I can't comment on how factually correct it was but it was certainly a moving and touching account of two friends in the autumn of their lives. Its not often you can tell how much love has gone into a film but it is obvious with this one.. it's not been made as a money maker or a vanity project, its literally a labour of love and it comes across as such in every scene. Loved it.

(No Spoilers here)

When fans of the iconic team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy think of them, it is primarily their work that came out of the Hal Roach Studios that comes to mind. Whether in films from the waning days of the silent film period or through their work in short subjects and features through the 1930's, their often hilarious predicaments have burned a definite series of images in the minds and hearts of fans for over ninety years.

In the new film directed by John S. Baird, viewers are treated to that era in time but only briefly. The story of "Stan & Ollie" concerns itself with the least documented period of their careers; their British Tour of 1953. By this time, "The Boys" are years removed from their halcyon days as the top comedians in motion pictures. Away from the cameras, Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy perform on the stage for fans who grew up with them and still love them.

"At the end of the day we could have tried to do exactly what they did", John C Reilly (Oliver Hardy) explained to Ross Owen who was one of the consultants on the film, "but I don't think it would've been as satisfying as what we've done which is provide a human glimpse at these two performers". I am happy to report that this is exactly what they've done.

As Laurel and Hardy, Coogan and Reilly are wonderful whether playing the men off the stage or when recreating genuine Laurel and Hardy routines. The vocal interpretations are excellent; at times you may forget when Ollie yells, it is really Reilly!

As Stan Laurel, Steve Coogan has the difficult task of going from Laurel, the creative craft-smith and business man to Stan, the thin half of the comedy duo. Stan Laurel who Dick Van Dyke once said that while the great comedians always showed their "technique", Laurel never showed his; you actually believe he is that guy.

Coogan's Laurel, an older, more weathered man is still as brilliant at coming up with material, going through the paces and rigors of his work behind the scenes yet when he is Stan on stage with Hardy, the transformation is deft and lovely. You can hardly imagine that this simple comedian is the brains behind the creating of their material.

For John C. Reilly, the moments are even more subtle. There are times during the ninety eight minutes we spend with them that you forget you are watching an actor portraying Hardy. The final years of Oliver's life were beset with illness, an image few of his fans got to see which makes this portrayal more intense and riveting. The prosthetic make up created by Mark Coulier is so well done, you will lose yourself in the performance and believe you are seeing Oliver Hardy four years before his passing.

Equally as captivating are the performances of Nina Arianda and Shirley Henderson as Ida Laurel and Lucille Hardy. These talented actresses worked so well together, at times it's as if we are seeing another comedy team, reminiscent of another Hal Roach duo, Anita Garvin and Marion Byron. Arianda was afforded the opportunity of hearing Ida's voice from a recording made by longtime Laurel and Hardy fan, George Mazzey; Henderson had many tapes of Lucille to work with. Both women convey the same love and protection for their respective spouses.

Rufus Jones, a self proclaimed lifelong fan of Laurel and Hardy (he was a member of The Sons Of The Desert) is Stan and Babe's producer of the tour, Bernard Delfont and he's a riot as the promoter who get The Boys to do things they may not want to do with the skill of a surgeon.

While the most ardent fans of the real Laurel and Hardy will notice certain aspects of the film that don't hold to actual events as they may or may not have occurred, writer Jeff Pope has been able to condense separate events and place them together, telling the story without making the film a three hour affair.

Chock full with references that harken back to some of the classic films Stan and Babe made, these "easter eggs" do not detract the casual viewer from the proceedings. In fact, this is the perfect introduction to new viewers who may wish to seek out the treasure chest that awaits them in the Laurel and Hardy canon.

Inspired by the book about the British touring years by A.J. Marriot, the film is a genuine love story. Filled with heart, it is the little told account of the final performing years of Stan and Ollie and the wives and fans who loved them unconditionally. For people who will come to this story as newbies, they will understand the friendship and caring these men had for each other. For those who watch as lifelong fans, bring your handkerchief because this is one love story with the happy ending we've wanted to know.

I am an officer of the international Laurel & Hardy society Sons of the Desert, and I just attended a pre-release screening of the upcoming "Stan and Ollie."

Before the picture started I was thinking about older celebrity biographies that didn't work out ("The Buster Keaton Story," "The Eddie Cantor Story") and others that succeeded despite taking massive liberties with historical facts ("The Jolson Story," "The Buddy Holly Story"). Well, I thought, I'll keep an open mind and look at "Stan and Ollie" as a fictional, larger-than-life show.

Two words of advice, Laurel & Hardy fans: SEE IT.

The producers have taken extreme pains to set the scenes just so, with the decor, the props, the wardrobe, and the general atmosphere ringing true. The re-enactments of actual events are substantially accurate, but the screenwriter has juggled the chronology around for dramatic effect, so things don't happen in their actual order. The early scenes, for example, show the older Laurel & Hardy playing to small audiences in tiny theaters, and the final scenes show full houses in massive theaters -- in fact, the reverse was true, with the venues getting humbler as the years passed. At least one character is a composite of different people: Stan's self-effacing wife Ida is portrayed like one of his former wives, the strident Countess Illeana. The biggest dramatic liberty, seen in the "Stan and Ollie" trailers, has Stan and Babe arguing and battling. These scenes are well played and staged, but have no basis in fact. These scenes are more like the Martin & Lewis story, where the easygoing partner withstands the driven partner's moodiness and finally sounds off. The 97-minute feature should not be judged by these few inaccurate minutes.

We've all seen celebrity impersonations that are good, bad, or indifferent. I'm happy to report that Steve Coogan is outstanding as Stan Laurel, and John C. Reilly is astonishing as Oliver Hardy. The voices, the body language, the small gestures, the exaggerated "stage" personalities -- both actors are right on the money. This is no shallow, variety-show imitation. It's a surprisingly deep, heartfelt, and sincere portrayal of Laurel & Hardy, on stage and off.

"Stan and Ollie" opens in late December, and if you like Laurel & Hardy at all, have no fear -- you'll enjoy it. Will you recognize certain events in the story? Probably. Will you grin at the re-creations of the team's sketches? Almost certainly. But will you laugh your head off? No. This is an intimate story with only a few principals, and you might find yourself choked up more than once. Critics have called the relationship between the "Stan" and "Ollie" screen characters as the greatest love story of the movies. This new movie demonstrates it.

I hope Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly are both nominated for Academy Awards as "Best Actor" -- and I hope they both win.