Stan & Ollie - Review

Directors: Jon. S Baird

Screenwriter: Jeff Pope

Starring Steve Coogan, John C. Reilley

As someone who was raised on Laurel And Hardy films from a very young age I may be very a bit biased, as they hold a very dear place in my heart, and have a been passed on through my family. Every year at some point or another I find myself with my family in hysterics over the classics such as Blockheads and Tit For Tat and so on. However, a film cannot rely on the nostalgia of the audience alone or else you end up with what can look to be a biased film with nothing interesting to say. Thankfully this is not the case for 'Stan & Ollie'.

Labeling itself as another "Untold Story" bio pic, the film follows arguably the most famous comedy duo of all time, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (or as they were more famously known "Laurel and Hardy), during their last UK tour. In this case, the film really was an untold story for me, the image of Laurel and Hardy had been so ingrained in my brain has two on screen characters that I never really stopped to think about what the relationship of these two may have been like which is ultimately what the film focuses on.

The two Central performances are absolutely outstanding with each mannerism being perfected. I have to say that although both are sublime I think that the way Coogan has managed to get almost every part of Stan's' persona both on screen and off Is extraordinary. At some points during the film I did think that it was almost trying to show off to me how good the performances were rather than just letting the film naturally play it out. For example, some scenes which take place in the theater setting can begin to drag on as rather than showing a snippet of the routine the film tends to show a tad too much. Yet the way the film handles this aspect is also captured beautifully at a closing scene of the picture. The supporting cast are also great, with the pairs wives being played by Shirely Henderson as Lucile Hardy, and Nina Arianda as Ida Kitaeva Laurel. Nina brings many of the films funny moments, perhaps even more than the lead duo.

I think it does help to be a fan of the two to truly get invested in this film but I still believe most will find this to be a heartwarming and very emotional tribute to the greatest comedy duo of all time.

Rating - 4.5/5 Stars