Icons that they were, the works of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy shared much in common with contemporaries like Harold Lloyd, The Three Stooges, or even Buster Keaton. While their own brand was perhaps lighter and gentler, the duo built their pictures on gags aplenty, situational humor, physical comedy, witty repartee, and not least the dynamics between the stars themselves. No few of their flicks are essential classics, though at that, not all are equal - and while it still has some highlights, unfortunately I think 'Bonnie Scotland' is one of their weakest. In distinct contrast to some of their other features, the pacing here is often very lax, and soft; the comedic timing is thrown off, and too many bits that should be funny just kind of fall flat. By the same token: filmmaker James W. Horne would go on to make a few more movies with Laurel and Hardy, and he previously had worked with Keaton. Here, however, his direction is meager, resulting in a dire lack of vitality in most scenes; the high energy that commonly characterized so much of the pair's oeuvre is bizarrely absent. With deficits of both timing and spirit, the film is sadly just not all that fun.
Don't get me wrong, it's not altogether bad; some moments absolutely earn hearty laughs. Yet those moments are perplexingly few and far between - hardly to be seen at all for the first thirty-six minutes that take place in Scotland, and showing up only at irregular, infrequent intervals in the remainder. Meanwhile, it's noteworthy that this is an instance of a comedy with substantially stronger plot to string the whole together (as opposed to fare where a vague through-line is a mere excuse for the panoply to come). That's fine, and there are worthy ideas in that plot; there's also a considerable mean streak to the writing, in a few different ways, that breaks from the lightheartedness that so commonly defined Laurel and Hardy. Moreover, though it's not the fault of 'Bonnie Scotland' that it was made during a time of imperialist rule, that the tale and setting lean on British colonialism in South Asia has not aged well. Not just that: it would be one thing if the picture were simply set in that time and place, but there are also examples of condescending exoticizing (i.e., "Oh, isn't India so droll"), and of outright demonization (as seen in the climactic sequence).
The humor presents so unevenly that when the relatively humdrum majority of the length gives way in the last stretch to heightened emotions and utmost pizazz, the shift is tiresome and obnoxious instead of hilarious. Some notions that have lent tremendously to the entertainment elsewhere (e.g., the high-pitched, tearful blathering Laurel adopts when his character is upset) fail to land. Value remains, yes, and I definitely appreciate the work of the cast and crew - but without the mirth, vigor, and timeliness that is essential to enjoying ourselves, the best acting and craftsmanship struggle to mean much in these eighty minutes. When all is said and done the feature manage to beat out the duo's floundering swan song, 'Atoll K' / 'Utopia,' but that's just about the most that can be said for it. And for all that, still I wonder if I'm not being too kind in my assessment. There are odds and ends to like here, but for as much as the movie pales in comparison to almost all its kin, it's difficult to especially recommend this when one would be better served by instead just rewatching 'Saps at sea,' 'Swiss miss,' 'Our relations,' or 'Pack up your troubles,' among others.
I'm glad for those who get more out of 'Bonnie Scotland' than I do. As far as I'm concerned, though, this is something suggested for the diehard Laurel and Hardy fans, and for those who are intent on watching all their works, and not necessarily anyone else. What fun there is to be had here is regrettably all too little, and one's time is better spent elsewhere.
Don't get me wrong, it's not altogether bad; some moments absolutely earn hearty laughs. Yet those moments are perplexingly few and far between - hardly to be seen at all for the first thirty-six minutes that take place in Scotland, and showing up only at irregular, infrequent intervals in the remainder. Meanwhile, it's noteworthy that this is an instance of a comedy with substantially stronger plot to string the whole together (as opposed to fare where a vague through-line is a mere excuse for the panoply to come). That's fine, and there are worthy ideas in that plot; there's also a considerable mean streak to the writing, in a few different ways, that breaks from the lightheartedness that so commonly defined Laurel and Hardy. Moreover, though it's not the fault of 'Bonnie Scotland' that it was made during a time of imperialist rule, that the tale and setting lean on British colonialism in South Asia has not aged well. Not just that: it would be one thing if the picture were simply set in that time and place, but there are also examples of condescending exoticizing (i.e., "Oh, isn't India so droll"), and of outright demonization (as seen in the climactic sequence).
The humor presents so unevenly that when the relatively humdrum majority of the length gives way in the last stretch to heightened emotions and utmost pizazz, the shift is tiresome and obnoxious instead of hilarious. Some notions that have lent tremendously to the entertainment elsewhere (e.g., the high-pitched, tearful blathering Laurel adopts when his character is upset) fail to land. Value remains, yes, and I definitely appreciate the work of the cast and crew - but without the mirth, vigor, and timeliness that is essential to enjoying ourselves, the best acting and craftsmanship struggle to mean much in these eighty minutes. When all is said and done the feature manage to beat out the duo's floundering swan song, 'Atoll K' / 'Utopia,' but that's just about the most that can be said for it. And for all that, still I wonder if I'm not being too kind in my assessment. There are odds and ends to like here, but for as much as the movie pales in comparison to almost all its kin, it's difficult to especially recommend this when one would be better served by instead just rewatching 'Saps at sea,' 'Swiss miss,' 'Our relations,' or 'Pack up your troubles,' among others.
I'm glad for those who get more out of 'Bonnie Scotland' than I do. As far as I'm concerned, though, this is something suggested for the diehard Laurel and Hardy fans, and for those who are intent on watching all their works, and not necessarily anyone else. What fun there is to be had here is regrettably all too little, and one's time is better spent elsewhere.