Stan et Ollie

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.

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.

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.

After a quick introduction in 1937 during which we discover Laurel and Hardy at their peak and in full glory, we elliptically flip in 1953, which seems to be the beginning of the end of a legendary association imbued with a seamless friendship. The duet is wonderfully and faithfully interpreted by 2 excellent actors.

Any film that can make me cry deserves at least 8 out of 10.