As a lifelong fan of L&H, naturally I was over the moon to hear that this film was being made, though I must admit I was hesitant when I heard of the casting choices. Thankfully I was proven wrong and both Steve Coogan and John C Reilly do an amazing job in the roles. I had heard Steve do an impression of Stan in BBC's "The Trip" series and he has it off to a tee. He's not a dead ringer for him, but the performance really makes up for that. John C Reilly is uncanny as Oliver Hardy and I actually forgot it was him under prosthetic makeup appliances! The film details the duo's final years, when they toured Britain in the early 50's and the troubles they faced with their drop in popularity. The context of the film was first brought to my attention through AJ Marriott's fantastic book, "L&H: The British Tours", which chronicles the four separate trips they made to the UK. I read this before the film was released, so it was nice to see the text being adapted into the film (And very proud to see my Glasgow home town make an appearance!). The film is a mixed bag of emotions, with nods and flashbacks to the duo's early days reminiscing the viewer of the scale of their work as a team. Having seen the film twice now (the first included a great interview with director, John S Baird), I must say that I found it even more emotional second time round, even though some of these scenes upped the dramatisation. I've heard fans say that they won't watch it as it may ruin the funny/happy connotations that L&H have, but you have to realise that they were real people too and I can agree it may not be everyone's bag, but I found it to be very ensightful without altering the image of this iconic duo. The final scene is a very emotional watch, accompanied with a final title that explains what happened in the final years, along with a slideshow and clip from "Way Out West" (I never thought I'd get watery eyes watching the "At the Ball" dance sequence!)
Overall this film is just fantastic and I hope it picks up a good number of awards as it definitely deserves it. A fantastic screenplay by Jeff Pope, along with great direction by Baird, the film is a must see for fans young and old. Now let's get them back on mainstream television!
Review of Stan & Ollie
