Stan & Ollie (2018)
Directed by Jon S. Baird
With their golden era long behind them, comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy embark on a variety hall tour of Britain and Ireland. Despite the pressures of a hectic schedule, and with the support of their wives Lucille and Ida – a formidable double act in their own right – the pair's love of performing, as well as for each other, endures as they secure their place in the hearts of their adoring public
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What critics compared Stan & Ollie to
In director Jon S. Baird's ("Filth", "Cass") reverential and resourceful dramedy biopic Stan & Ollie, the cinematic tribute to the masters of mockery is presented in a sweet-minded, earnest manner.
All the while, director Jon S. Baird (“Filth”) uses mirrors to symbolize two legends reflecting back on their careers.
Foregoing the grit of his previous Filth and Cass, Jon S. Baird’s Laurel and Hardy tribute is conspicuously smooth-edged, albeit lodged with the sort of endearing honesty that makes (however lacking the zip-zap rhythm of their prolific skits) an undeniably sweet testament to the pair’s final years.
Since comedy is a famously serious business, it feels apt that Filth director Jon S. Baird and Philomena screenwriter Jeff Pope’s treatment of the clown kings is refreshingly low-key, leaving a mind-blowing Coogan and Reilly to steal the show.
After his scabrous, drug-fuelled, politically incorrect Irvine Welsh adaptation Filth , director Jon S. Baird may seem a surprise choice to helm such gently bitter-sweet fare.
It’s also, in a sense, the last risk that director Jon S. Baird (2014’s Filth) will take in this charmingly nostalgic but otherwise by-the-numbers drama.
In the film, we get to meet their wives - Laurel's Russian wife Ida (Nina Arianda; Midnight in Paris) and Hardy's small-in-stature wife Lucille (Shirley Henderson; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire).