Stan & Ollie
[Devin Dayley]
Year Released: 2018
Director: Jon S. Baird
Stars:
John C. Reilly
Steve Coogan
Danny Huston
General Summary:
This is the true story of Laurel and Hardy, the world’s most famous comedic duo. As aging humans, they go on a tour of Europe in hopes to reignite their fame. As the film progresses, their friendship is tested and they end up having to rely on each other as they face their decline in fame.
Review:
This was a very interesting movie. I went into it kind of half-heartedly and thinking this is pg, it’s going to awful, it’s pretty much a movie made for kids. Kind of like I went into spider Man: into the Spider-Verse.
While this wasn’t the most entertaining movie in the world, it was fascinating to watch. This was a true story, which to me, made it a cooler story. This definitely is a “feel good” movie. Which is encouraging when it is a true story because it’s nice to see people being nice and good in the midst of this world of negative news and bad people.
This film definitely pays homage to old films and the old style of acting. You might be thinking that this a period piece so of course they pay respect to those "old-timey" films and stuff. I will say, though, that the ‘feel good’ nature of this film intensified the homage to the old style of Hollywood.
John C. Reilly, I thought, was very good at playing the role of Ollie (Oliver Hardy). He is known for his comedic roles and was able to incorporate that into the film while also bringing a lovable quality to his character. Steve Coogan, who played Stan Laurel, I felt the same way about. I felt as if they connected off-screen and that was why we were able to feel their friendship in the audience. My complaint with the acting was the accents; mainly Steve Coogan’s accent. I know he is British in real life but he was playing an American and there were times when his accent did not sound succinct with John C. Reilly’s.
I, in particular, was unfamiliar with Laurel and Hardy as people. So with that being said, it was not a very intriguing film. While I can appreciate the fact that people of a different generation might like it because they are familiar with Laurel and Hardy as a comedy duo, I was not familiar, so I was not as entertained. I keep saying to people- it was a great film, not a great movie. What I mean by that is that it had great theatrical elements to it but was not particularly entertaining, or thrilling, to watch.
There was one scene towards the end where, no spoilers, the camera shot shown directly into a light so all you could see was streaks of light and then darkness. thats what I'm talking about when I say there were great theatrical elements. I love elements like that!
I would rate this movie a solid 5.5/10 for having a niche story that not a wide audience could appreciate.
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