Laurel and Hardy, arguably Hollywood's greatest comedy double act, enjoyed their best years as a pair for the better part of two decades. However, at the start of the 1950s, the golden era was already behind them. A biopic on the celebrated odd couple, Stan and Ollie , focuses on this brief period and their struggle to win back their audiences.
Stan and Ollie is based on their farewell tour of the United Kingdom in 1953. John C. Reily plays the rotund Oliver Hardy and Steve Coogan plays his physical opposite Stanley Laurel.
The trailer begins with a packed audience tickled at a replay of one of Laurel and Hardy's old acts. But the realisation of their waning fame bites hard when the pair starts playing to half-empty theatres. Their off-screen chemistry is in contrast to what their fans are used to, when, behind the scenes, the pair start digging up the past and bruising each other's egos by bringing up words like “betrayal”.
Bogged down by age and fading health, their final venture nosedives further. But they resolve to sign off on a high when Hardy unexpectedly knocks on the door and says “the show must go on”. And the slapstick routines resume.
The film, directed by Jon C. Baird, releases on January 11, 2019.
Watch the trailer here:
