Post by Rob W. Case on Apr 10, 2019 23:27:10 GMT -6
The infamous comedy duo Laurel and Hardy won audiences the world over in their unique and cleverly coordinated comedy act starting in 1927. By the summer of 1937, they were at the top of their game, and the biggest comedy stars in Hollywood. Their talent, creativity, timing, and techniques would not only entertain millions of people worldwide, but it created a legacy that scores of other successful comedians would follow in the future.
The Story:
The film begins in 1937 on the lot of the famous Hal Roach Studios, in the Golden Age of Hollywood. On the way to the set of their current picture “Way out West,” we see Stan Laurel (Steve Coogan) and Oliver Hardy (John C. Reilly) not only talking about their personal lives, but Stan is ambitious in getting a fair deal from Hal Roach (Danny Huston) for the Laurel and Hardy act. You see, Hal Roach was a shrewd Hollywood businessman who would never hold single contracts for a team act. That would give them more control over their careers and give them more leverage in negotiating their salary. Roach maintained separate contracts for each performer which would be up for renegotiation at a separate time from the other, granting him the most leverage over the act because audiences would be used to paying good money to see the act of the two performers they go to movie houses to see. Knowing this, Stan Laurel cooks up his own strategy, a strategy that would separate the act of Laurel and Hardy from the Hal Roach brand. Confronting Roach on this proves to be difficult, as this particular scene depicts.
From the studio to movie theaters worldwide, the film “Way out West” proves to be another blockbuster for Laurel and Hardy as this scene depicts.
With the continued success of Laurel and Hardy pictures, Stan Laurel’s contract disputes with Hal Roach intensifies to a new level. In 1939, for the film project “Zenobia”, Roach teams Oliver up with Harry Langdon, a former Vaudeville performer who is most famous for his silent films. Stan Laurel is devastated at Oliver for doing the picture without him, and abandoning a strategy (and essentially him) that would have set them off on their own, and awarded them dual ownership of the act, which would result in each of them earning more money.
Fast forward to 1953:
16 years after being at the top, Stan and Oliver come to the realization that their best days may well be behind them. When they reconnect for a live tour in Europe, they experience drastically low turnout from their audiences, which raises uncertainty about their future as a viable comedy duo in a new era. But once they collaborate with one another and brainstorm together on clever new comedy routines, and remake some of their classic old ones, like this one for example…..
……they begin to rekindle that spirit that audiences came to know and love, and reconnect with their audiences. As a result, they become a hit once again. But this time, being a hit comes with a host of new challenges. In the midst of the popularity of newer comedy teams (like Abbott and Costello), Laurel and Hardy not only have to remain competitive professionally, but they have many personal difficulties to deal with that threaten their comeback. Stan still hasn’t fully gotten over Oliver’s doing a picture without him for starters, and tensions come to a head. And then while judging a beauty contest, Oliver has a mild heart attack and collapses at a beauty contest. And so, their partnership falls under critical threat to Oliver’s failing health. Meanwhile, Stan is working hard to get a movie off the ground that he’s trying to pitch, but the efforts are falling to no avail. And so, as the end seems to draw near to an act that they worked so hard to revive, Stan and Ollie come to re-learn that it’s not their partnership as professionals that gives lifeblood to their act. It’s their friendship and appreciation for one another that supplies the “blood” and “oxygen” to it. In that, it is a story of true friendship, loyalty, and love.
My Take:
I really liked this movie. It is a warm, lighthearted film that is enjoyable to watch on many fronts. If you are a fan of Laurel and Hardy, then you will appreciate the very human story (through their highs, lows, strengths, and vulnerabilities) behind their partnership. If you are a fan of classic Hollywood (what with the pressures, techniques, dynamics, and the way movies were made in the old days), then you will likely be amazed at how those who would be infinitely famous for their work long after they were gone left behind a solid work ethic to follow. And if you want to see what real friendship consists of, this movie will do just that. Apart from all of those dynamics, I am surprised that the casting director did not receive an Oscar for casting John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan as Laurel and Hardy. They not only looked like the real Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, but they also sounded just liked them, and made you believe that you were really looking in on them in a period in their lives. Also, the women who played Laurel and Hardy’s wives, Ida Laurel (Nina Arianda) and Lucille Hardy (Shirley Henderson), who met up with their husbands while they were on tour, were an added treat with their vivacious personalities vibrantly expressed within their relationship with their husbands and between each other. In one scene, Laurel and Hardy’s theatrical agent Bernard Delfont (Rufus Jones) introduces the ladies to some prominent British people at a party, and after Ida and Lucille talk to them for a bit, Delfont turns to the British people, smiles, and says, “two double acts for the price of one.” While Lucille is mostly soft-spoken, mild mannered, and always worried about her husband “Babe,” Ida is more vivacious, quick spoken, and pushy, with dialogue that is witty, sometimes funny, but always supportive.
All in all, “Stan and Ollie” is one of those movies that you can get comfortable and curl up to.
“Stan and Ollie” is based on the book “Stan and Ollie: The British Tours” by A.J. Marriott.
Out of 4 stars, I give Stan and Ollie 3 and a half stars.
The movie is rated PG and runs 1 hour and 38 minutes.
To view a trailer for the movie, please click on the “play” buttons below.
The Official U.S. Trailer:
The Official International Trailer:
“Stan and Ollie” is available to own and rent on Blu-ray and DVD, as well as multiple streaming services. “Stan and Ollie” is also available at RedBox kiosk machines everywhere.
The Story:
The film begins in 1937 on the lot of the famous Hal Roach Studios, in the Golden Age of Hollywood. On the way to the set of their current picture “Way out West,” we see Stan Laurel (Steve Coogan) and Oliver Hardy (John C. Reilly) not only talking about their personal lives, but Stan is ambitious in getting a fair deal from Hal Roach (Danny Huston) for the Laurel and Hardy act. You see, Hal Roach was a shrewd Hollywood businessman who would never hold single contracts for a team act. That would give them more control over their careers and give them more leverage in negotiating their salary. Roach maintained separate contracts for each performer which would be up for renegotiation at a separate time from the other, granting him the most leverage over the act because audiences would be used to paying good money to see the act of the two performers they go to movie houses to see. Knowing this, Stan Laurel cooks up his own strategy, a strategy that would separate the act of Laurel and Hardy from the Hal Roach brand. Confronting Roach on this proves to be difficult, as this particular scene depicts.
From the studio to movie theaters worldwide, the film “Way out West” proves to be another blockbuster for Laurel and Hardy as this scene depicts.
With the continued success of Laurel and Hardy pictures, Stan Laurel’s contract disputes with Hal Roach intensifies to a new level. In 1939, for the film project “Zenobia”, Roach teams Oliver up with Harry Langdon, a former Vaudeville performer who is most famous for his silent films. Stan Laurel is devastated at Oliver for doing the picture without him, and abandoning a strategy (and essentially him) that would have set them off on their own, and awarded them dual ownership of the act, which would result in each of them earning more money.
Fast forward to 1953:
16 years after being at the top, Stan and Oliver come to the realization that their best days may well be behind them. When they reconnect for a live tour in Europe, they experience drastically low turnout from their audiences, which raises uncertainty about their future as a viable comedy duo in a new era. But once they collaborate with one another and brainstorm together on clever new comedy routines, and remake some of their classic old ones, like this one for example…..
……they begin to rekindle that spirit that audiences came to know and love, and reconnect with their audiences. As a result, they become a hit once again. But this time, being a hit comes with a host of new challenges. In the midst of the popularity of newer comedy teams (like Abbott and Costello), Laurel and Hardy not only have to remain competitive professionally, but they have many personal difficulties to deal with that threaten their comeback. Stan still hasn’t fully gotten over Oliver’s doing a picture without him for starters, and tensions come to a head. And then while judging a beauty contest, Oliver has a mild heart attack and collapses at a beauty contest. And so, their partnership falls under critical threat to Oliver’s failing health. Meanwhile, Stan is working hard to get a movie off the ground that he’s trying to pitch, but the efforts are falling to no avail. And so, as the end seems to draw near to an act that they worked so hard to revive, Stan and Ollie come to re-learn that it’s not their partnership as professionals that gives lifeblood to their act. It’s their friendship and appreciation for one another that supplies the “blood” and “oxygen” to it. In that, it is a story of true friendship, loyalty, and love.
My Take:
I really liked this movie. It is a warm, lighthearted film that is enjoyable to watch on many fronts. If you are a fan of Laurel and Hardy, then you will appreciate the very human story (through their highs, lows, strengths, and vulnerabilities) behind their partnership. If you are a fan of classic Hollywood (what with the pressures, techniques, dynamics, and the way movies were made in the old days), then you will likely be amazed at how those who would be infinitely famous for their work long after they were gone left behind a solid work ethic to follow. And if you want to see what real friendship consists of, this movie will do just that. Apart from all of those dynamics, I am surprised that the casting director did not receive an Oscar for casting John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan as Laurel and Hardy. They not only looked like the real Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, but they also sounded just liked them, and made you believe that you were really looking in on them in a period in their lives. Also, the women who played Laurel and Hardy’s wives, Ida Laurel (Nina Arianda) and Lucille Hardy (Shirley Henderson), who met up with their husbands while they were on tour, were an added treat with their vivacious personalities vibrantly expressed within their relationship with their husbands and between each other. In one scene, Laurel and Hardy’s theatrical agent Bernard Delfont (Rufus Jones) introduces the ladies to some prominent British people at a party, and after Ida and Lucille talk to them for a bit, Delfont turns to the British people, smiles, and says, “two double acts for the price of one.” While Lucille is mostly soft-spoken, mild mannered, and always worried about her husband “Babe,” Ida is more vivacious, quick spoken, and pushy, with dialogue that is witty, sometimes funny, but always supportive.
All in all, “Stan and Ollie” is one of those movies that you can get comfortable and curl up to.
“Stan and Ollie” is based on the book “Stan and Ollie: The British Tours” by A.J. Marriott.
Out of 4 stars, I give Stan and Ollie 3 and a half stars.
The movie is rated PG and runs 1 hour and 38 minutes.
To view a trailer for the movie, please click on the “play” buttons below.
The Official U.S. Trailer:
The Official International Trailer:
“Stan and Ollie” is available to own and rent on Blu-ray and DVD, as well as multiple streaming services. “Stan and Ollie” is also available at RedBox kiosk machines everywhere.