Qui dit mieux?

Appearantly this was the last comical short which starred the two boys in the leading roles. Too bad they didn't ended it with a blast. But still, this movie is just as good as most of their other works of course and it has some good and entertaining moments in it.

The story is just above average. It's your typical Laurel & Hardy stuff in which the boys get into some serious and unlikely trouble again. It's nothing special but the story and the movie in general serves its purpose to entertain and amuse its viewers.

The movie begins good with some typical slapstick moments. This is Laurel & Hardy at their best. After that the boys get into some more trouble, which also involves of course once more one of their wives and luckily it also involves James Finlayson again. His role is quite small and not really that impressive but his presence alone is more than enough reason to consider this movie an entertaining and above average one. All of the comical moments are rather predictable but executed very well, due to some good timing and acting by especially Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The ending of the movie might feel out of place but nevertheless it's pretty entertaining to watch Stan Laurel imitate Oliver Hardy and vice versa. They both did a good job at imitating each other there and it surely made me laugh.

All in all it's a well made, consistent comedy by James W. Horne, who probably was the best and most consistent director of Laurel & Hardy pictures. Not their best or most memorable work but nevertheless a worthy last comedy short by the famous comical duo.

7/10

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Laurel and Hardy eat a nice dinner before setting out for a baseball game. However Mrs Hardy forces them to stay at home to wash the dishes. This, combined with further embarrassments, lead Laurel to suggest Hardy take control of his affairs rather than being owned by his wife. However a confusion over money leads the two men into a medical emergency.

Although the film feels like it has been made up of several good ideas rather than one, it still manages to be very funny for the most part. The opening dish washing routine is a great example of how much comedy they can get from a simple concept, while the `I gave it to him to give to you' routine is a good example of their verbal skills as actors. The short continues well but isn't able to be as good as it's first half again. The final scene is funny but the whole hospital epilogue doesn't really belong and it suggests that the idea occurred to them and they just looked for a film that they could tack it onto.

This sounds like a problem but it isn't that big a deal as the majority of the film works really well. Hardy and Laurel work well together and do well with the many types of routine they have here – just the routine where Laurel keeps putting clean dishes into the sink for washing is a good example of how their looks and body language can create laughs. Pollard is a good Mrs Hardy as she is feisty without being too dour. Finlayson enjoys his role as he has more dialogue than usual but also gets to do his `d'oh' and double take stuff (often it seems he either gets the physical stuff OR the dialogue).

Overall this is a really funny little short from Laurel and Hardy. The ending may feel like it doesn't belong with this film but even it manages to be worth a laugh! The fancy way that the scenes are linked (sliding doors effects) adds a novelty feel to what is a strong short from Laurel and Hardy.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.

Although more than fine in its own right, 'Thicker Than Water' is most notable for being their last short film, meaning them in the lead roles and not just a cameo appearance. Didn't find 'Thicker Than Water' one of the duo's best, in a filmography that was mostly solid to classic (only '45 Minutes from Hollywood' misfired for me but that was very early on when their partnership and style hadn't formed or evolved and when Hardy especially was not being used well), nonetheless it is still very good and has much of what makes Laurel and Hardy's work as appealing as it is.

Flaws are very little and more nit-picks really. The story is slight and a bit disjointed.

Do also agree to an extent that while the ending is very funny, it also felt a little tacked on.

More often than not though, 'Thicker Than Water' is great fun, not always hilarious but has enough amusing parts. It is never too silly, it doesn't lose its energy and the sly wit is here, some of the material may not be new but how it's executed actually doesn't feel too familiar and it doesn't get repetitive. The physical comedy comes thick and fast and choreographed and performed beautifully, and the witty verbal interplay shines every bit as much. The beginning is one of the duo's funniest.

Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry sparkles and after taking time their early efforts to fully form it certainly felt well established from 'Two Tars' onwards and since then has not let up. Their comic timing is impeccable, both in the physical comedy than the verbal.

'Thicker Than Water' looks good visually, the energy is there from start to finish and the direction shows a sense of being at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. Daphne Pollard and James Finlayson are great support.

Overall, very good. Not essential or classic Laurel and Hardy, but a good representation of them. 8/10 Bethany Cox

In their partnership, Stan and Ollie made quite a few domestic comedies--particularly those where Ollie has an angry and domineering wife. So, this territory is certainly not unusual. However, the comedy short is still very well handled and is quite creative as well--providing more than enough reason to recommend this little film.

Ollie is married to a tough little woman. In fact, the contrast between them is funny in itself. Ollie is of course big and fat, but his wife is so tiny, seeing her scolding him and bullying him is pretty funny. In fact, late in the film, she needs to stand on a chair when she ultimately smacks him over the head with a frying pan! So how did their domestic bliss degenerate to such depths? Well, much of it seems to arise from allowing Stanley to live with them as a border and Ollie's stupid decision to actually listen to one of Stan's "good ideas". Given she has to deal with BOTH these men, I guess I can forgive Mrs. Hardy for being so angry!! Perhaps the one thing I like about the film best were its scene transitions. In a truly unusual and cute touch, Stan and Ollie often stop the scene they were doing and then walked to the corner of the scene and then "pulling" the next scene into the camera! This sliding transition was very well done and it was cute when they would say something like "wait" and then do this.

As the end of the film goes, I am a tad uncertain what I thought of it. Sure, seeing Ollie pay the price for his stupidity by getting slugged over the head with the frying pan and ending up in the hospital is kind of funny, but it's also a tad cruel and how all this is wrapped up it totally bizarre (albeit, funny). I think you just have to see it--I'd hate to spoil the ending by going any further.

Thicker Than Water is another Laurel and Hardy short directed by James W. Horne, and while the actors and producers of these silent/early-talkie shorts get much more credit than the directors behind them, something must be said about Horne's involvement with the Laurel and Hardy shorts, predominately the ones in the late twenties and early-to-mid-thirties. For starters, Horne's shorts, speaking of this particular one and Big Business from 1929, have the narrative consistency of being manic and developing a one-thing-leads-to-another scenario, stockpiled with hilarious mixups and misunderstandings. Then there's the fact that both of these shorts have the ability to keep accelerating in their zaniness, in such a way that is hilarious to watch and never burdensome or overbearing.

Thicker Than Water concerns Stan and Ollie, who are just about to head to the local baseball game when Ollie's wife (Daphne Pollard) scolds Ollie for ditching her with all the dishes and forces both men to wash them before leaving. After a hilarious scene, exercising Horne's directorial formula of filming various things accelerate into complete chaos, a man shows up to collect payment for some furniture Ollie and his wife bought. Following a miscommunication in funds, Stan and Ollie must withdraw the couple's savings from the bank to buy the furniture.

The scene doesn't stop there, with a whole new set of craziness awaiting at a local auction house, followed by the inevitable scolding of Stan and Ollie by Mrs. Hardy when they arrive home. Thicker Than Water shows an exuberant amount of comedic energy on part of its performers, as almost every Laurel and Hardy short does in some way, and, thanks to the incredible situational and slapstick writing by Stan Laurel and Frank Tashlin, Thicker Than Water never becomes tired or redundant in its pursuit of laughs and potboiler comedy. As the final short that featured both men in starring roles, it may not be what everyone was expecting, but it certainly is a hilarious offering. If only maybe Laurel and Hardy knew their career together was over would they have tried to conclude their work with a bang.

Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, and Daphne Pollard. Directed by: James W. Horne.