The Reel Easy Review

  STAN & OLLIE: There are no elephants in this film.     

 ‘Stan and Ollie’ was the most gentle, lovely and old school style of film I’ve seen in a very long time.This slow paced jaunt down memory lane of the perhaps lesser known, later courier of Laurel and Hardy, was not only a lovely testimony of both their lives and their massive contribution to the industry, but also the style of film itself. 

       There were many references to Laurel and Hardy style skits and routines throughout the film. The one that springs to mind was when they were dragging a very heavy suitcase all the way up the stairs between them to then miscommunicate, drop it, and watch it roll all the way back down. These classic slapstick moments coupled with the real rehearsed gags we saw the two perform on stage gave me a warm, almost sad and moving feeling of a beautiful art the we have perhaps lost in the fast paced comedy we have now in the 21st century. “They just don’t make 'em like that anymore.” I hear my father say, but thankfully with ‘Stan and Ollie’ they have.

       John C Riley is a perfect example of this problem in cinema. Here’s a man who can act the pants off anyone in the room but chooses to be in these trashy ‘Will Ferrell’ type comedies (Holmes and Watson) that one would probably count as more ‘mainstream.’ Steve Coogan was a very brilliant Stan Laurel and did I great impression of him, but John C Riley WAS Oliver Hardy! The question here is why lower yourself to a mediocre (at best) standard? If it’s money driven then more money needs to be ploughed into better films. 

       The real stars of the show for me however were the very humorous and long suffering wives of the two hapless comics. Played by the marvellous Shirley Henderson and the surprise gem for me Nina Arianda, these two brilliant actress' repartee, chemistry and strength brought the film to life for me. Such well written wit and comic timing, the two begrudging friends had me laughing throughout and then close to tears in the final moments of the film. A real joy to watch and their performance alone make this film unmissable for me. 

       Another delightful performance that had me smirking was by another relatively unknown actor to me, Rufus Jones, playing Stan and Ollie’s producer, the famous Bernard Delfont, Rufus really captured the two faced manner of the character exceptionally and to anyone who knows the industry well the way he told Stan and Ollie everything they ‘wanted’ to hear and still get his own way was played to perfection assisted by the superb writing of Jeff Pope. 

       The only reason I don’t give this film 10/10 is the fact that due to the style of the film some moments did drag. Now I’m very aware it’s my own short coming as an audience member having been over stimulated by new releases that tell their stories at a far more fast and furious rate, but I couldn’t help feeling it was a bit dull in the first parts of the film.

       I therefore would give this film a 8.4/10 and I urge everyone to watch this truly wonderful tribute to a beautiful era of cinema and these two great men.

       I've been Christopher Whitmore, thank you for reading.