Stan & Ollie
Year: 2018
Rating: PG
Length: 98 minutes / 1.63 hours
The duo of Laurel & Hardy is one of those classic acts that seems to come up when people talk about comedy. I’d certainly heard of them before, but I would be hard-pressed to tell you what one of their famous bits was. On the flip side, most people know the “who’s on first” bit from Abbott & Costello. Sure, Laurel & Hardy’s comedy was mostly physical, so there’s not a lot of clever wordplay to remember or easily recreate. Until I watched Stan & Ollie (2018), I never knew how hard they really had it.
Focusing on the two comedians trying to gain traction after determining that they were being screwed by the big production companies, Stan & Ollie is funny when these two men (aptly performed by Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly) are in their element. The problem is, it’s heartbreaking to see them try so hard and struggle to get nowhere without the exploitation of the big production companies that originally made them famous. Perhaps that dichotomy is what hits so hard in this film: the knowledge that they were successful, but the inability to capitalize on it by themselves.
While it’s important for films like this to highlight how artists are often marginalized so that others can profit from their success, it makes for a depressing movie. The bits of comedy shown on their tour was fun, but knowing the struggles in the background—and how they kept going despite them—is hard to watch. Additionally, focusing on the difficult downfall of these two comedians doesn’t seem nearly as entertaining as seeing their rise to fame. Still, the poignant moments of this film make it worth a watch for anyone who even remembers who Laurel & Hardy were.
Moments of levity interspersed between heartbreaking artistic struggles, I give Stan and Ollie 3.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
