Stan and Ollie

A drama based around the 1953-4 British Isles stage tour by Laurel and Hardy, the last time the famous duo worked together.  It opens sixteen years earlier in Hollywood with the pair, then at the height of their considerable comic powers, splitting up over a difference in approach to their contacts, then swiftly moves into the shabbier world of provincial theatre and seedy boarding houses, the famous act now reduced in status.  Hardy (John C Reilly) is clearly struggling with his health, but determined to be upbeat.  Laurel (Steve Coogan) is negotiating with a producer for their next film, based on the Robin Hood story.  Neither seems quite at ease with the other, or their act, a reflection of petty jealousies and disagreements built up over time.

But there's a deep friendship underlying the bickering and both Reilly and Coogan are excellent in creating a relationship that's flawed, but ultimately too strong to break.  They are joined by their wives (Shirley Henderson and Nina Arianda), each driven to want the best for their man and suspicious of the other's motives.  Add in the oleaginous charm and disingenuity of promoter Bernard Delfont (Rufus Jones) and there's a combustible mixture that bubbles along nicely.

With so much on offer why did I find time dragging?  The writer, Jeff Pope, has taken considerable liberties with history to create the story.  He implies the couple hadn't worked together since '37, but in reality they made their final movie in 1951.  I've no problem with a film bending the truth to enhance dramatic effect - but so where was the drama?  There are a few memorable moments, but the guts of the film lie in the relationship between the two leads, and the pathos they bring to it.  That would still be the case if the story had stuck closer to the truth.  Not being a comedy is fair enough, not being a drama either is less forgivable.

However the abilities of Reilly and Coogan, and their supporting cast, are enough to make it worth the ticket price.  It's just a shame they weren't better served by the writing.

Great performances, shame about the script.