Stan & Ollie Dropped the Luggage

Stan & Ollie (2018)

Stan & Ollie was a nice movie about the last leg of Laurel and Hardy’s comedic partnership. It gently covered the unfair labor practices of Hollywood in the first half of the 20th century, which forced them to break up for over a decade, but it focused primarily on the final tour that they took throughout Europe to try and make money at the end. It was a very simple movie with good actors in critical roles, but it lacked any real depth. There was very little happening beyond a failed Oscar grab. It was a straightforward story about forgiveness and friendship, but there was no real climax. It was dry and short, with clever dialogue and not much else. It wasn’t bad, by any means, it just didn’t reach its lofty goals. It wanted to be a transcendent biopic about two legendary comedic actors who have been out of the spotlight for generations. It was not that. Stan & Ollie is a biopic that lacks subtlety and plays the same speed as a documentary. I still enjoyed Stan & Ollie because the actors, Reilly and Coogan, were terrific and there were enough one-liners to keep me chuckling, but it was right for the Academy to leave this movie out of its nominations. Stan & Ollie was a harmless biopic and I give it 18 of the 28 years Laurel and Hardy worked together.