Stan & Ollie ★★★½
IN the annals of film history there is no greater comic pairing than Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
Between 1927 and 1950 they appeared as a team in 23 full-length feature films and 84 short films including many in the classic silent era alongside comedy giants Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd.
As with all show-business partnerships they had their ups and downs, including ongoing battles with the studio system for more recognition and recompense matching their star status and box-office pull.
On a personal level they remained friends amidst creative differences, failed marriages and battles with alcoholism and gambling.
Unlike many other Hollywood stars of the time they achieved two notable things – surviving the initial transition from silent to sound films and never being part of a public sex or crime scandal, the latter instrumental in maintaining their appeal across all ages.
John S. Baird’s 2019 film Stan & Ollie is a fitting and loving tribute to the duo’s enduring legacy and features two exceptional performances from John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan.
The film starts in 1937 with the pair at the height of their popularity on the set of a new production.
We get an immediate sense of the many other issues at play in their lives including fights with formidable studio boss Hal Roach and new love interests.
The re-enactment of a classic dance routine also demonstrates both their ease with each other and on-screen chemistry.
We then jump to 1953 and the advent of television is increasingly impacting film studio decisions whether to bankroll new projects.
To maintain their current lifestyle and keep up appearances while they are waiting to have a new film greenlit, Stan and Ollie have grudgingly agreed to a live theatre tour through England and Ireland.
Promoter Bernard Delfont has taken a risk with the tour’s proposed full series of dates relying on the comic pair still being popular despite appearing less and less on screen.
Things get off to a slow start but the theatre houses are eventually bolstered by a series of public promotions which again they agree to reluctantly.
The arrival of their wives adds two dimensions to the film.
To the narrative it brings to the surface long-standing issues surrounding their professional careers and jealousies, further adding depth and some tension to the story.
To the film itself it brings another two very engaging performances by Shirley Henderson as Lucille Laurel and Nina Arianda as Ida Kitaeven Hardy, two very different characters with strong opinions and influences over their husbands.
Baird’s film, written by Jeff Pope who also scripted the impressive Philomena in 2013, remains a delight throughout with nostalgic moments of comedy recreation.
There is also sadness and touching moments in how the deep, at times almost unspoken, love pact between the two men is able to endure.
The great cast is rounded out by Rufus Jones and the scheming but ultimately well-meaning promoter Delfont who provides a counterpoint to the Danny Houston’s Roach representing the worst excess of Hollywood’s exploitation of its stars.