Stan & Ollie (2018)

I'm a little disappointed at how many adults today seem ill-acquainted with Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Granted, I haven't watched any of their work since childhood. Their only (barely) feature-length film that I've seen is Way Out West (1937), whose making, incidentally, kicks off this story.

At the peak of their world-famous careers, Stan (Steve Coogan) and Ollie (John C. Reilly) are nearly broke, thanks to a series of divorces and bets. Their different approaches to pursuing more money in the face of an obstinate Hal Roach (Danny Huston) lead to the comedy duo splitting up. When reunited in 1953, they do a series of live performances in the U.K. to generate hype for an upcoming movie. Alas, their stage producer (Rufus Jones) has had trouble booking good venues, and Stan has trouble contacting their movie producer for details...and hiding his worries. Tensions rise, both between Stan and Ollie and between their respective wives, Ida (Nina Arianda) and Lucille (Shirley Henderson). It doesn't help that Ollie has gotten no healthier in his early sixties.

OK, I may have oversold the tension part. There is rarely a hint of simmering resentment between Stan and Ollie outside of their acts. Even at their coldest, they keep their anger relatively under control, at least by Hollywood standards. For comparison, while Ida and Lucille never reach the same dramatic high, they do needle each other more often than they behave like friends.

It's interesting to learn a few things about what they were like in RL. I wouldn't have guessed from their shorts that Stan was the wittier of the two, always making quips on the fly and working out new material, whether or not he thought they would ever get the chance to use it. At the same time, he may have been the more serious in a way, sparing little time for leisure unrelated to his career. That knowledge does clarify how he and Ollie could run into conflict. BTW, the two hadn't met before Roach cast them together.

Speaking of casting, I almost don't feel a need to tell you this, but Coogan and Reilly are very well cast. When we see a clip from WOW, they look remarkably the same as the real guys. That said, I have a hard time judging Coogan's voice. Stan didn't use his British accent on screen, but apparently he did on stage.

The humor? Well, as usual for comedian biopics (e.g., Chaplin, Lenny, Man on the Moon), it's partly classic and partly far from classic. Sometimes I thought the contemporary audiences were way too easy to please: What's so funny about that little dance, for instance? I laughed more at moments they didn't put on for a large audience, including a few they didn't intend. Heck, I laughed more at the banter of the wives. Power to Arianda and Henderson, yo.

But let's face it: I didn't come for the humor. I came for mild drama and education. On those points, S&O delivers. Ultimately, it's rather sweet. I recommend a viewing even if you've never watched or enjoyed Laurel and Hardy.