When I saw the trailer for Stan & Ollie starring Steve Coogan and John C Reilly respectively, I knew that I wouldn’t see it in theaters, but I would definitely watch it because I knew that it would be well done. I’m more familiar with Abbott and Costello than Laurel and Hardy because Abbott and Costello mingled comedy with horror and sci-fi in their movies, which I loved as a kid, and still love thanks to Edgar Wright’s pairing of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
Stan & Ollie is probably a better film than I will report. I’m not appreciating as much as it deserves. Intellectually I understand that Abbott and Costello wouldn’t exist without Laurel and Hardy, and I know that it makes me a philistine, but I don’t completely get the latter duo’s humor. What makes this film brilliant is that it is a less a bio pic and crafted into more of a homage to Laurel and Hardy’s work meets real life. It is a brilliant move that I couldn’t fully appreciate because of my ignorance. I’m just not into them. I do have to compliment any movie based on real life that manages to lead me to expect one thing based on the preview then takes a complete swerve in the actual plot. Most fictional movies can’t manage to genuinely surprise me. I didn’t start the movie knowing a lot about these men, but I left with an appreciation of their individuality and humanity.
Stan is a man obsessed with comedy and making things funnier. He is the artist who genuinely cares about the work. Ollie enjoys reaping the benefits of their hard work, which makes him more vulnerable to the changing tides of tastes. They’re an odd couple, and their conflicting goals create tension in their work relationships. They hit the road with the hope that their career will get a second wind and maybe they’ll get a second chance at Hollywood stardom. This movie imagines what their pair’s last project looked like behind the scenes.
The acting is really great in Stan & Ollie. I have been giving Coogan a hard time for years, but if any actor is an expert on how to organically depict male friendships and work partnerships, especially when relocated to foreign locales, Coogan’s entire career has prepared him for this moment. Coogan makes his depictions seem effortless as if he is just being himself, which to be fair, he often is in such films as The Trip franchise, but it carries over when he plays real life, distinct people. When anything seems effortless, it means a lot of hard work went into the experience, and Coogan gets to show that he is one of the greats in this role.
I love Reilly. He has such range that he is taken for granted as a great dramatic actor who can jump into comedy without diminishing his stature, and he has been in a lot of bad, dumb fun movies. Stan & Ollie offers him an opportunity to elevate his comedy impulses to the level of his dramatic reputation. I love that Reilly shows other actors that they don’t have to be as serious and committed as Christian Bale to be great. In the bonus features, he laughs heartily and shouts, “I’m not gaining weight!” He can become his character without sacrificing his life or endangering his physical and mental health, and he also finds ways to experience joy and friendship at work without diminishing himself or the quality of his work (I’m talking to anyone who has appeared in an Adam Sandler movie after he became family friendly).
My favorite part of Stan & Ollie was the respective titular characters’ wives: Nina Arianda plays Ida Laurel, and after this performance, I need her to be in everything, and the eternally superb Shirley Henderson plays Lucille Hardy, who is in sharp contrast to her usual role. Ida and Lucille’s whole schtick is delightful and had me in stitches. They stole the spotlight from the magnificent leads. Arienda’s depiction of Ida made me adore that character and made me getting accustomed to her mannerisms and responses instantaneously. Ida’s presence deserves a whole movie. I wanted to add her to the fabulous, memorable women hall of fame who live the way that they please: Karen Walker, Lucille Bluth, but without the alcohol. Combined with Lucille’s snark at her traveling companion’s boastfulness, they became the act that I wanted the movie to follow. Before they appear on screen, we hear so much about them from their husbands, but the reality of the women in contrast to the image conjured by their reputation is unimaginable. Then when each person finally reunites with their chosen partner, the actual sweetness and love of these couples feels genuine, not like they are with these men because of their fame or money.
Stan & Ollie has a literal elephant in the room. The beginning of the film is reminiscent of Robert Altman’s The Player, but it is the anti-Player, a movie that tries to exorcise the bitterness from the business and amplify the sweetness of creativity and camaraderie to preserve the best parts of movies. It is really a love letter not only to the duo, but the early joys of filmmaking. There are two images of pure, platonic male love and gentleness in the film-a fantasy sequence of something that will never be, but is more real because the pair share and envision this creation and a moment of harsh reality ameliorated by tenderness. (My mom’s predictable reaction to the latter was “take your shoes off.”). These are images of how friendship isn’t exploited, but work is purified through the relationship. The mercenary and capriciousness of show business is ultimately rejected and shows that whatever is right, pure, lovely and admirable can be preserved and withstand baser desires.
If you’re a fan of anyone in the cast or the historical icons, then I highly recommend that you see Stan & Ollie. I wasn’t even into it, and I thought it was well done. It is family friendly. The emotions may be gritty, but it never goes blue. Another filmmaker could have chosen that route considering Ollie’s bon vivant, hard living lifestyle. These filmmakers embrace the old-fashioned palatability of its protagonists. I appreciated the film’s loving treatment of work, friendship and fame privileging the relationship over reward.