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.

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.

I think this film has some amazing acting. As others have noted, Laurel plays himself and also his own sister. Hardy does the same. But - the women characters they portray are different to the male Laurel and Hardy. The women characters are not Laurel and Hardy "in drag". They really are playing 4 different people.

The dubbing of the women's voices is perfect, in my opinion. The women who dubbed the voices really capture the feeling of Laurel and Hardy. They are great. The syncronicity of the dubbing is awesome.

I also think the photography - scenes when the four characters are having dinner together - is great. They really create the illusion of four separate people talking and bickering.

I don't want to risk spoiling anything for anyone and so I will not describe any of the truly funny scenes featuring each of these characters.

Suffice it to say that the film is very funny.

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.

In "Twice Two", Laurel and Hardy each play a dual role, with the idea being that they have each married the other one's sister. It's a creative setup, and they are both pretty good as the spouses. (The men do the acting, with the voices dubbed in by women.) Most of it takes place as the four have dinner together, and plays off of the tangled relationships among them. It is slower paced than usual, and is not really as funny as their best films. It's still worth watching, although it is probably of interest primarily to those who are already Laurel and Hardy fans.