Newspaper Page Text
11
THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10 -16, 2019
PAGE 11B
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Laurel and Hardy movie Stan & Ollie is a joy
BY LINDSEY BAHR
(AP) There are lot of movies in
theaters right now trying to grab
your attention, and dollars, from big
superhero spectacles and musical
extravaganzas to awards darlings
and wannabes. It’s easy to get over
whelmed with the options in the
multiplex (and, frankly, at home)
and when something like, say, a
late-career Laurel and Hardy biopic
comes along, you’d be forgiven for
thinking it easy to dismiss, or at
least put off for a little while.
But I’m here to tell you not to
sleep on Stan & Ollie. “It is simply
terrific—an understated but smartly
told crowd-pleaser about the leg
endary comedy duo in their last act,
with wonderful production value,
a sharp and surprisingly poignant
script and brilliant performances
from John C. Reilly, as Oliver
Hardy, and Steve Coogan, as Stan
Laurel.
Directed by Jon S. Baird (Filth)
off a script from Jeff Pope (Philo-
mena), Stan & Ollie focuses in on
the two during a last-gasp musical
hall tour of the United Kingdom
in 1953, 16 years after their prime,
when most of the world had as
sumed the two had long-since
retired on the riches of their fame.
There is a brief introduction of
them at their peak working with
Hal Roach (played by Danny
Huston). They’re laughing about
ex-wives and money and declaring
that they’ll never get married again,
or, as Laurel says, he’s just going
to find a woman he doesn’t like and
buy her a house. But there’s a sign
of trouble to come. Laurel’s contract
with Roach is up, and he’s taking a
meeting at another studio, expecting
(and hoping) that Hardy will come
along.
The film comes back to this
pivotal break throughout, as we
leam more and more about that
rift and their lingering issues with
one another and the seams of this
showbiz-manufactured marriage
start to show even as this perfor
mance tour gets more and more try
ing as it becomes evident that this is
their last act. It’s a rough go on the
road at first, as they try to keep their
spirits up even when performing to
a half-full, second-rate theater (a
lousy promoter has not done a good
job educating the public that they’re
not retired).
Eventually they have to lower
themselves to do a series of cheesy
promos educating the public that
yes, it is them and not some imper
sonators, which ends up working.
Abbott and Costello might have
been the big screen comedy duo of
the moment, but it turns out there
was still an audience for nostalgia.
And there is more at stake than
just their ego—Laurel has been hard
at work on a Robin Hood movie
that he hopes could be their big
comeback (a producer is supposed
to come see their London show),
while Hardy is trying to mask his
declining health. Stan & Ollie packs
a surprising emotional punch as
well, without ever delving into the
sad clown sentimentality that you
might expect from a standard per
former biopic.
Whatever is going on behind
the scenes, in their friendship, their
marriages, with their finances, these
two seem to relish in delighting
an audience, whether it’s just one
person (like, say, a hotel clerk) or
a room of thousands. They’ll even
get their wives (Shirley Henderson
plays Lucille Hardy and Nina Ari-
anda is Ida Kitaeva Laurel) in on
it to drum up a little publicity, mak
ing them participate in “the door
bit” fresh off an international flight.
And Coogan and Reilly are at the
top of their game, truly disappearing
into the icons they’re playing.
Baird and his performers have
fun integrating these well-worn
bits (even the piano box!) into their
daily life and Laurel and Hardy
fans will have fun spotting them
throughout. And don’t worry if
you’re only passingly familiar with
Laurel and Hardy—their comedy is
timeless and it’s not an uphill battle
to understand why they were the
best, or to see their impact on the
comedy of generations to come.
Stan & Ollie, a Sony Pictures
Classics release, is rated PG by
the Motion Picture association of
America for “some language, and
for smoking.” Running time: 97
minutes. Three and a half stars out
of four.
