With their golden era long behind them, comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy embark on a variety hall tour of Britain and Ireland. Despite the pressures of a hectic schedule, and with the suppor...
Stan & Ollie stands up with its classic comedy to portray a famous friendship. Having never seen a film with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, I was sceptical that this biographical drama wouldn't be accessible for younger audiences. However what Baird manages to do is integrate the infamous slapstick humour that the duo prevailed in into a modern biopic that, for the most part, makes for a pleasant watch. Yet the reliance of typical narrative clichés that many biographical features contain does make Stan & Ollie occasionally stale. Set in the later years of the duo's career, they tour the United Kingdom whilst also working on a potential movie in a bid to stay relevant. During these times of excessive work and stress, their friendship and health is put under strain.
There is an underlying power that strives through Baird's ingeniously feel-good biopic, and that's the brute force of slapstick comedy. In a time where humour has "evolved" into crude behaviour consisting of sex, drugs and alcohol, the frequency of these comedies have caused the genre to become tiresome. Stan & Ollie acknowledges this and utilises the eponymous duo's unexpired material to create plenty of laughs. Seriously, you'll be smiling and laughing at the stupidity and nonsensical nature of their sketches (and that's coming from a dead person). Nostalgia plays an important part in the biopic, but it is never forced. The humour that has made these individuals so famous is actually replicated in their daily lives, which in turn inspires them to create new material. They are portrayed to be ludicrously hardworking, boisterously hilarious yet most importantly sincere. From the introductory one take scene, you automatically connect with them and the transitional segments where we see audiences laugh at their work shows how contagious they were as both staged personalities and individuals. Even during times when their friendship is rather rocky, you sense their unity. They are as one. After all, "there is no Laurel without Hardy". The conveyance of this mature friendship couldn't have been achieved without the two lead performances. Both Coogan and Reilly were enigmatic and truly became Laurel and Hardy respectively. Coogan's eccentric mannerisms and Reilly's physically demanding performance (t'was a large fat suit!) complemented each other perfectly. Fortunately the credits sequence included archival footage, to which cemented how excellent the acting choices were. It's a shame they are not getting as much recognition as they deserve.
As with other joyous biopics, it never attempts to reinvent the genre. It's narrative structure is fairly formulaic, and that unfortunately creates a few moments of predictability that somewhat detracts from the emotional investment. If you can immediately predict how the characters will play out in the third act, then you cannot fully feel the emotions that the script wants you to feel. Thankfully the screenplay is full of buoyancy and consistently keeps the pace moving. Perhaps slightly too fast, as the large time shift at the beginning will throw some viewers off.
So, what is the most imperative aspect to a biographical depiction of comedians/entertainers? The comedy. Stan & Ollie captures the slapstick humour that we've all missed and properly makes you laugh. I was laughing. The old couple in front of me were in hysterics, and the school child at the front was having a good time to. A resounding success! It just goes to show that Laurel and Hardy really are timeless.
