Be Big!

Once again the boys try to fool their wives by feigning illness. This time instead of taking them to Atlantic City, Ollie gets wind of a stag at their lodge and apparently it's in his honor. After convincing Stan that he is not actually sick, they set about preparing for the event. However, it takes half the episode to get Stan's boots off Ollie, who has accidentally put them on. Stan's boots are way too small. Nothing ever works out because the women have to return and the boys are caught red handed. Nevertheless, while the women are away, things are hilarious. We would ask ourselves, if this were a realistic venue, why these guys are so cavalier in their efforts to try to get up to something when these things are doomed.

Laurel and Hardy are both married in this comedy short. They are about to take their wives to Atlantic City when Hardy gets a call. The men at the club will honor Hardy tonight so he must be there. Hardy fakes he is suddenly ill and he wants Laurel to take care of him while the ladies must have their fun in Atlantic City. Laurel and Hardy change for the evening but there is some trouble with Laurel's boot on Hardy's foot. Hilarious sequences is what we get to see.

Although almost the entire short deals with the boots, Laurel and Hardy find enough ways to make us laugh. Hardy takes some nasty falls and Laurel has some nice moments with his stupidity. A very entertaining short.

Stan, Ollie and their wives are going on a trip to Atlantic City, but when Ollie gets a call from a friend saying a stag party is being thrown in his (and Stan's) honor, he cannot resist. The boys get themselves into their usual bit of trouble, although the laughs here are a bit strained, most notably in the long winded boot sequence which went on entirely too long.

This particular Hal Roach short with Laurel and Hardy seems to have worked so well that the idea was later expanded into their classic Sons Of The Desert comedy.

Stan and Ollie are a couple of henpecked husbands who have planned to take a joint vacation to Atlantic City with the wives. But then Ollie gets a call from a hunt club that he and Stan belong to and it seems as though the gang is throwing them a bash. And since this is a guys only type gathering, they have to ditch the wives.

Ollie fakes a tremendous headache in the usual overactive Ollie fashion and the wives decide to make it a girls only trip to Atlantic City. With the ruse working, Ollie and Stan have to get into their hunting outfits.

Personally I find it hard to believe that some hoity toity outfit would even have Laurel and Hardy as members let alone as honored guests at a party. But leaving that aside, most of the film from this point on is taken up with Hardy having managed to squeeze into Laurel's boots by mistake now trying to get them off his feet with Laurel's inept assistance.

I've never seen one gag milked so successfully for a film, granted it's just a short subject. Seeing poor Laurel struggling to get those boots off Hardy's feet, dragging him around the apartment and wrecking half of it is hilarious.

Who could have known that in reality the title Be Big referred to Ollie's feet.

This is far from being the best Laurel & Hardy short, even though it surely does have its moments.

It's a bit of a disappointing entry, in the long series of Laurel & Hardy shorts. There is almost absolutely no story present and the movie relies too much on funny sounds and too many long comical sequences. I mean watching a couple of minutes how Olie tries to get his boots on and off gets a bit tiresome after a while.

Still I don't rate this movie poorly, since I was still more than amused by it all. Especially Stan's stupidity never seizes to amuse. There also are a couple of moments in the movie that makes it definitely worth watching. Of course the timing is perfect and the chemistry between the two boys is amazing to watch. They really feel each other and make some of the sequences work better than scripted. They even make the predictable moments in the movie work- and funny.

To some it might be a disappointment but the movie has got more than enough entertainment in it, to make it a movie that's well worth to watch.

7/10

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