Dois a Dois

It has been a year since Laurel and Hardy married each other's sisters. They stay at home for a nice quiet meal, but the tensions between this close knit family bubble up as things go wrong during the meal.

At the start of the film I felt that the duo dressed in drag would be a gimmick that wasn't used well, happily I was wrong and they use it well. It isn't just them mugging in girl's clothes, it is more a chance for them to play the same characters twice as, essentially, their sisters are them same as them! This works well and the dynamics between the two sisters are the same as between the two men.

The comedy is given a fresh feel by this mix, which is good because it is lacking in other areas. The banter is not at it's best and the physical work is not as imaginative as at their best. In their dual roles both Laurel and Hardy are good – the badly dubbed women's voices take a little getting used to but don't detract too much.

Overall this is an amusing short. Not their funniest short, but the twist of them playing each other's sisters helps freshen it all up a little bit.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy reached their creative best with Twice Two where they their usual selves and female counterparts. It seems as though Stan and Ollie have married each other's sister and both think it was a great idea as it cements the relationship of the two.

They might have to rethink the notion as a family dinner at the Laurels proves a disaster. The female Ollie falls into a cake during the preparation. There's also a great gag with simply Stan using Ollie's key to open the front door. I won't say more but I think it's a tribute to both of them, especially Stan the creative one that they could get so many laughs with a simple act all of us but shut-ins do nearly every day.

Of course with the female personas half the credit should go to the actresses who provided the voices for the characters. May Wallace for Stan and Carol Tevis for Ollie perfectly match those familiar bodies in drag.

Offspring from these unions would be called double cousins. Just think what those kids might be like.

There are certain clichés that almost every comedian has done some time. One of them is dressing as the opposite sex and in this film you get to see how well Laurel & Hardy manage to entertain as ladies. The best individual concept in this bit is the fact that the pair has married each others sisters, who both "unfortunately" look like their brothers. Mr Hardy is very "Ollie" when he even states about his wedding day "It was the happiest day of my life." The best in this film are the insults that the two "ladies" present to each other. Some people might not necessarily find the insults enjoyable, but they are definitely something you never hear in other Laurel & Hardy films. Not their best film, but despite the possible not-very-good-taste element, among the funniest "men as women" flicks ever.

"Twice Two" isn't among the most consistent or hilarious Laurel & Hardy shorts but it still is fun and good enough to watch.

The boys in drag isn't exactly the greatest style of humor. The concept even got a bit tiresome after a while in the movie. The movie goes on for a bit too long with its gags and isn't the best paced Laurel & Hardy short.

Yet the movie is filled with some truly great and well timed moments, that without doubt will make you laugh.

A fun movie but with a far too long stretched out concept and storyline.

7/10

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Stan and Ollie have both married into each others family's, to celebrate their respective wedding anniversaries, dinner is arranged.

Seeing both Stan and Ollie in drag, side splitting, incredibly funny scenes, showing the two legends were happy enough to explore any avenue to get the laughs. It does seem somewhat strange that the guys would go for each others sisters, but it's true what they say, it's a funny old world.

Plenty of laughs to enjoy here, for such a short film, it really does pack in the laughs, still the best physical humour you could imagine.

Cleverly filmed, managing to get the dual characters on screen at the same time, in 1933 that was a real triumph.

The voice overs work a treat, they are so outlandish, so wonderfully over the top, they seem to capture the spirit of Laurel and Hardy very well.

It was fun to discover they Fanny and Sandy were as clumsy and accident prone as their respects brothers.

9/10.