Better known to the world as Laurel & Hardy, two things are communicated with the title Stan & Ollie: 1. There’s another side to this comedy duo, a lesser known side, and we’re about to be privy; 2. This is a more intimate look at the team, an insider’s look as we are invited to know them by their first names.
In the 1930s, at the height of their career, Stanley Laurel (Steve Coogan) & Oliver Hardy (John C. Reilly) were like a 90s-era boy band and Hal Roach (Danny Huston) is their Lou Pearlman. Laurel and Hardy were as manufactured and packaged as any boy band; they started out as strangers, but when producers threw them together, their careers became inextricably combined. They became the most famous comedy duo on the planet, but the trouble was, they didn’t own any rights. Their movies weren’t their own. They drew salaries but never saw profits akin to their success. Producers and managers pocketed their millions.
When Stan’s contract was up (and Ollie’s was not), he saw it as an opportunity to 
negotiate – or leave. He got himself a better deal elsewhere, but the problem was, Ollie didn’t walk with him. Too afraid to risk his small piece of the pie for the whole damn dessert, Hardy stayed behind, and even allowed himself to be reteamed with someone else. Ultimately their careers tanked and that was the end, or nearly the end, of Laurel & Hardy.
Which, interestingly, is where the movie begins. It’s been 15 years since those unsuccessful contract negotiations, and the world has assumed that the pair have been retired. Laurel & Hardy mount a comeback tour over in the UK, supposedly culminating in a movie deal. But the grueling tour is humbling, the small theatres not selling out, the world having moved on. Plus, Hardy’s health is no good. Can his body even do this anymore, even if the people showed up? Not to mention the resentments quietly roiling beneath the surface. Both are nursing hurt feelings.
This movie is a really interesting look at what it takes to forge a creative bond with someone. And what it takes to stay together! Though their job was to make the people laugh, it often came at a cost to them. This movie isn’t overly anxious to uncover dirt, it’s got a tread about as heavy as their soft-shoe routine. Small in scope, it’s actually better than the average biopic, focusing on the lows rather than the better-known highs experienced in the spotlight.
Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly are well-matched. They certainly make us believe in a shared history and an easy\uneasy rapport. They’re both a lot of fun to watch, despite this movie being more about their despair and their failings. Stan & Ollie is a peek behind the clown’s smile, and the truth is that grease paint is slippery and imperfect, but it makes a helluva compelling story.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
If any of you cry at my funeral I’ll never speak to you again.
Stan Laurel
PS. Thank for all you sharing with us!!!!!
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This was such an intriguing read! Thank you for the share!👌👌
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Glad it lives up to the hype.
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I really liked this one for all the reasons you said, especially because it was set so late in their careers so didn’t follow the arc of a typical biopic. Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly are so great and have wonderful chemistry in this film.
I also really liked the interplay between their characters’ wives as those characters added another layer of comedy and drama, especially during Hardy’s health issues.
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True, they were great too, and not without a weird competitive vibe.
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It’s interesting that there were shared resentments, that they split up, and that Ollie was the one who wouldn’t negotiate.
Late in his life, after Hardy had died, Laurel told Dick Cavett about the time he took Hardy a Christmas gift. Hardy apologized when Laurel showed up and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t get you anything.” He then looked at the numerous gifts he’d gotten–Hardy was apparently very popular–and picked up an expensive bottle of whiskey. He started to offer it to Laurel then said, “This is really difficult to find,” and kept it.
Laurel saw nothing wrong with that and was merely amused, saying it was so typical of his friend.
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That was an interesting era in film. I suppose most of the stars were manufactured by the studios in some way. I’ll be curious to see this one.
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I am looking forward to seeing this film as they were my dad’s favourite. My dad was an avid movie goer in the late 20’s and 30’s and he never missed one of their films. This film looks so good with great actors. I love your review which makes me want to see this all the more.
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I’m keen to see this one and I’m pleased that they never made (another fine) mess of it.
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I hate biopics that do little more than tread through history with no discernible story arc. This sounds like a refreshing change of pace. Plus I adored Laurel and Hardy as a kid. Looking forward to seeing this.
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I think keeping the story small in scope helps a biopic keep focus – trying to do too much always spells disaster.
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I agree.
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Sometimes being funny ….. isn’t.
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The behind-the-scenes stuff of real life can be fascinating…but so sad too. Similar sadness behind the Three Stooges and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis’ story of woe. None of it ever seems to be just wonderful or even nice.
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Thanks for such a detailed review of this movie, I haven’t seen it yet but would like to.
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