Celebrated comedy duo Laurel and Hardy get the biopic treatment in this interesting and affectionate look at their 1957 comeback tour of the UK and Ireland.
Director: Jon S. Baird
Screenwriter: Jeff Pope
Script source: Script Slug
Inspired by: The non-fiction book Laurel & Hardy – The British Tours by A.J. Marriot.
Synopsis:
*Major spoilers* Hollywood, 1937. The beloved Anglo-American comedy pairing of Stan Laurel (Steve Coogan) and Oliver Hardy (John C. Reilly) is riding high, with hit movies and celebrity status. While Ollie has several ex-wives and a taste for gambling, Stan is focussed on their careers and is even talking about making films independent of the studio. Stan is also in conflict with the studio over getting the partnership wages that are on par with silent movie star Charlie Chaplin (with whom Laurel worked on the vaudeville stage in the UK). Stan’s studio contract is due for renewal, but Ollie is bound for a longer term. Eventually, Stan leaves the studio, but Ollie stays to work out his contract and makes a film with another comedy partner (and an elephant).
Sixteen years on, the duo is foundering and undertakes a stage tour of the UK and Ireland while waiting for a film project to be finalised. At first, audience numbers are disappointing and manager Bernard Delfont (Rufus Jones) talks of cancelling dates, but momentum builds, and the shows eventually become sell-outs, after Stan and Ollie agree to do extra publicity. Stan learns that the film is not going to happen but withholds this from Ollie and they continue to write and rehearse scenes. Along the way, they are joined by their wives, Lucille (Shirley Henderson) and Ida (Nina Arianda). However, conflict arises between the pair and they fall out, with Stan revealing long-held resentment over the ‘elephant movie’.
Ollie suffers a minor heart attack and is forced to rest. He tells Stan that the doctor advised he not continue with the tour. He also reveals that he plans to retire. In order to continue the tour, Stan rehearses with a new partner, but can’t bring himself to go on and cancels the show. He decides to cancel the rest of the tour and go home. However, as they are packing to leave, Ollie shows up at the Laurels’ hotel room and tells his partner he wants to finish out the tour. On the voyage to Ireland, Stan tells Ollie that the film isn’t going to happen – Ollie says he already knew. They arrive in Ireland, where a heroes’ welcome awaits. Their show goes down a storm, but it is clear that Ollie’s health is faltering. A caption reveals that after the tour they returned to America but never again performed as a duo.
Analysis:
*Spoilers* As a partnership, the real-life Stan and Ollie appeared in 107 films, including 32 short silents, 40 short talkies, and 23 full-length features. They enjoyed great success across more than two decades; their brand of innocent slapstick, horseplay and musical comedy going down well with audiences during a period of time that encompassed the Great Depression and World War II, among other things. So, it’s no surprise that this prolific and much-loved duo would be the subject of a biopic. Maybe the only surprise is that it took so long.
However, rather than tell the story of their respective backgrounds and their rise to fame, Stan & Ollie focuses on the end of their careers, when Hollywood movies and audiences’ tastes had moved on and they were forced, at least at first, to play to lacklustre audiences in second-string UK theatres. Overall, it’s a compelling set-up, which builds into a very affecting screen story. But that’s not to say that it is a runaway success. The first part of the film is a little brief, as we are taken through their Hollywood success and the sharp come down to a dismal hotel in Newcastle. In all honesty, it all feels a little episodic and uninvolving.
Things improve as the conflict between the laid-back fun-loving Hardy and the more serious career comedian Laurel ramps up, culminating in an excellent scene at an after-show reception when long-held tensions simmer over. From this point, the film becomes wonderfully engaging, boosted by the presence of their loving, supportive wives (themselves an entertaining double act!). The ending is also wonderful, highlighting the appeal of the partnership and serving as a very fitting tribute to the real-life Stan and Ollie.
In fact, the film as a whole is very generous to its subjects, portraying their relationship as warm and genuine, while highlighting their different personalities and approaches to the partnership. Of course, much of the success of this film lies in the casting. Plaudits have rightly been paid to Riley and Coogan, who inhabit the roles and exhibit great chemistry, capturing both the on-stage comedy (including the famous mannerisms) and the off-stage pathos, as they realise their days as a partnership may be numbered. They also very much look the part, thanks to the superb make-up and costume. The supporting cast is solid, if sometimes a little caricature-ish. However, this does add to the overall ‘theatrical’ feel that melds reality with the duo’s on-stage antics. For example, there’s a scene in which they attempt to move a large trunk that echoes one of their famous skits involving getting a piano up a staircase. There is also a wonderfully touching scene in which the cancelled film that Laurel is pinning the duo’s hopes on comes to life.
As has been pointed out in other reviews, this is really a platonic love story between two men who have shared so much of their lives but feel their time at the top has come and gone. On this level, much of the film works beautifully and transcends the elements that don’t work so well. For fans of the duo, this (family-friendly) film will likely be appreciated on a higher level; for everyone else, it serves as a delightful look at the final act of an enduring and endearing comedy partnership.