If you live within a two to three mile radius of my house, there is a 99.9% chance you know Laurel and Hardy. Outside our borders the percentage drops precipitously. Case in point, the young lady at the refreshment stand asked me what movie I was going to see, I replied Stan and Ollie. She got a slightly glassy look in her eyes and asked “what’s that”?
Laurel and Hardy starred in 150 movies during the late twenties and thirties, and became the most famous and by far the funniest comedy duo of all time. The majority of us became fans watching their films on television, especially during the 50s and 60s. Most or all of their material is available on Amazon Prime. When you are looking at the options this movie pops up, but has not yet been released for viewing. I suspect it won’t be too long before you’ll be able view it there, although most likely there will be a fee. One of my favorites is The Music Box, released in 1932. It depicts the pair attempting to move a piano up a large flight of stairs. It is not only hysterical but won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film that year and in 1997 was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress for being “culturally significant.”
The duo stopped making movies in 1937, and sixteen years later in 1953, re-united for a “revival” of sorts touring England, Scotland and Ireland, using live stage performances to entertain their fans. They sold out everywhere. This movie is the story of that tour. While we are treated to a number of their most popular skits from the films, more importantly is the behind the scenes look at the pair, as they were off stage and screen. There are some surprising revelations about them and their personal lives, particularly when their wives join them during the tour. That part of the movie was more entertaining than the skits.
Stan & Ollie
Entertainment Rating: ★★★★
Rating: PG: adult theme, no profanity!
Possible Oscar Nominations: Sadly there were none, although the film received 19 nominations and two awards outside of the Oscars. Both John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan deserved to be nominated for Best Actor by the Hollywood crowd but were not.
John C. Reilly is Oliver Hardy, the transformation into his character is phenomenal, partly due to sitting in the make- up chair four hours a day, but his voice inflections and behavior are perfect. Steve Coogan is flawless as Stan Laurel, not as much make- up needed, but you couldn’t tell him apart from the real one. Frankly, I was awed as the story progressed by how they had hit “the nail” right on the head with their personification of these two.
This is one of the two or three best movies I have seen in some time, I highly recommend it. The problem is it may not be around long, as it is not doing too well (at the moment) at the box office. Hopefully it will catch on.
Random Observations: There’s lots of buzz about another Netflix original film, Roma. It garnered nine Oscar nominations, so I thought I better check it out and maybe write a review. (Spanish speaking with English subtitles). It started out innocently enough and just as I was getting into the story, out of no- where a man walks out of the bathroom, totally nude, frontal exposure and begins dancing around. That ended that. You may recall that last year’s Oscar for best movie went to The Shape of Water, not only was it one of the worst movies in history, but also filled with frontal nudity. So apparently one way to get recognized by the Guild, use lots of frontal nudity. And we think the politicians are insane.
Finally, flipping channels late one night, I came across Shane, the greatest Western ever. I’d already seen it a dozen times (or more), but couldn’t resist watching the two fastest guns in the West do battle one more time. A nod to my friend David who agrees with me on this one.
