SONY Pictures Classics has a winner on its hands with the release of Stan & Ollie, a biopic paying homage to the great comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. From the opening scene, right through the original footage during the credits, I was enthralled and taken back to my youth.
When I was a kid, I loved watching old black and white comedies, from the silent movie era right up until the time when Technicolor became popular. I would check-out Super 8 films from the public library and show them at home on my father's Super 8 projector. Then I'd invite my little cousins over to the house for a movie night. My favorites were always, Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and the Keystone Cops.
Laurel and Hardy appeared in 107 films together, and I still may have only seen about half of them. This comedy duo's performances are as funny today as they were in 1927 when they appeared in their first movie together, as a team, in the silent short; Putting Pants on Philip.
Stan & Ollie depicts the latter years of their career together. As the synopsis on the movie's official IMDb site states;
Laurel & Hardy, the world's favourite comedy double act, set out on a variety hall tour of Britain in 1953. Diminished by age and with their golden era as the kings of Hollywood comedy now behind them, they face an uncertain future. As they set out, crisscrossing the country, attendances are disappointingly low. But they've always been able to make each other laugh and as the charm and beauty of their performances shines through their audiences laugh too, and they re-connect with legions of adoring fans, old and new.
Eventually, audiences increase and the tour is successful, but Hardy's health is failing and they realize the end of the road is near. I will leave out the part about their relationship and don't want to present any spoilers here, but allow you to experience the raw emotions of the characters for yourself.
One thing that truly impressed me about this film was the acting. Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly not only fit the persona of Laurel and Hardy exceptionally well, respectively, but also could have passed for twins of the person they portrayed. You will not recognize Reilly without his curly hair and he must have gained a lot of weight to portray Hardy.
Although Laurel is a native of England, he made his home in the U.S. for many years and was a star here. He died in 1965, at the age of 74. Hardy was a native of Harlem, Georgia, and was only 65 years old when he died in 1957.
I can not recommend this movie enough. It is rated PG and certainly for all family members. There were only a couple minor words of profanity. There was some smoking and drinking, as was the custom of the time. Other than that, the movie is a clean, comedic relationship biopic, and the best I've ever seen done on the life of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. See this movie, and take your youngsters to appreciate and learn from where the roots of comedy in this country came.
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