Stan and Ollie review: Steve Coogan is a hoot, while John C Reilly deserves an Oscar

Charlotte O'Sullivan11 January 2019

This tragic-comic biopic is mostly set in 1953, the year Hollywood comedy legends Stan Laurel and Ollie Hardy toured the UK and Ireland in hopes of revitalising their careers and mending their friendship (damaged by Ollie’s willingness to make a movie, 1939’s Zenobia, minus Stan).

Steve Coogan, these days, resembles a cross between Ryan Gosling and an anorexic moose, making him just right to play Laurel. Coogan nails the accent and signature moves.

Just as importantly he makes us believe in the flesh and blood man, who was the brains behind the operation. Coogan’s performance makes you want to hoot out loud. He also makes you want to shiver. He’s like a man possessed. Has Stan been inside him, all this time?

John C Reilly is just as incredible as Hardy. This actor makes great films greater and has been quietly doing so for years (did you notice him in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Boogie Nights or Magnolia?). When Hardy and Laurel have an almighty row, Hardy accuses his partner of being “a hollow man”.

Perfect partners: Stan & Ollie co-stars Steve Coogan and John C Reilly
Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP

Reilly’s eyes let you in on a secret: this is Ollie’s private fear about himself. Reilly’s fat suit does its work well, but it’s Ollie’s multi-layered soul that makes the bigger impression. Someone give Reilly an Oscar. Please.

The writing by Jeff Pope (Oscar-nominated for Philomena) is delicious. He explores co-dependency, whips up hilarious lines for Shirley Henderson and Nina Arianda (playing the chalk and cheese wives) and lampoons a post-war Britain dominated by oleaginous fixers (Rufus Jones is spot-on as the duo’s tour manager) and brain-dead toffs.

The film will win Laurel and Hardy new fans and proves how well Coogan works in a team. I thought he had the perfect partner in The Trip’s Rob Brydon; now I want more of the Coogan-Reilly show. Both are 53. The oddest thing about them is that it’s taken them so long to pair up.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in