Steve Coogan, left, as Stan Laurel, and John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy in “Stan Ollie.” (Nick Wall/Sony Pictures Classics)

Steve Coogan, left, as Stan Laurel, and John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy in “Stan Ollie.” (Nick Wall/Sony Pictures Classics)

‘Stan & Ollie’ are created with affectionate precision

Gifted actors have replicated some of Laurel and Hardy’s classic routines with great affection.

Playing a comedy genius is surely 10 times harder than playing another category of intellectual brilliance. If you’re cast as Albert Einstein, you put on a fright wig and spout a few equations — everybody thinks you’re brilliant. Play a famous singer, and they can always dub the voice.

In the current “At Eternity’s Gate,” Willem Dafoe is Vincent Van Gogh: a terrific performance, one for which the dedicated actor learned how to paint. But he doesn’t have to convince us he painted the completed canvases — Van Gogh provided the genius we see hanging on the walls around the actor.

But comedy? Comedy is hard. To be convincingly touched by comedic genius is an extremely difficult thing to fake — it’s the difference between acting funny and being funny.

The most inspired attempts at that kind of thing have used actors who have a kind of cracked comic gift themselves: Robert Downey Jr., as Charlie Chaplin in “Chaplin,” and Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman in “Man on the Moon.” Even when those uneven films aren’t clicking, you buy the concept. You’re really looking at someone unique.

Which brings us to “Stan & Ollie,” a new film that concentrates on a single period from the lives of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The greatest comedy duo in showbiz history (this is not up for debate), Laurel and Hardy enjoyed enormous success together from the mid-1920s onward.

From left: John C. Reilly, Shirley Henderson, Steve Coogan and Nina Arianda in “Stan & Ollie.” (Nick Wall/Sony Pictures Classics)

From left: John C. Reilly, Shirley Henderson, Steve Coogan and Nina Arianda in “Stan & Ollie.” (Nick Wall/Sony Pictures Classics)

The film’s concept is to catch the pair with their career in its sundown phase, as they embark on a live tour of Britain circa 1953. The houses are half-empty and an alleged movie deal with a European producer is almost certainly a pipe dream; meanwhile, the boys have some old issues to sort out. The material is sentimental, and fairly tame, and partly fictionalized.

Anyway: Steve Coogan plays Stan Laurel, and John C. Reilly plays Oliver Hardy, and that’s what makes the film go. They re-create some classic routines, with obvious affection; these are performers who understand comedy in their bones.

Coogan is a gifted mimic (Google “Steve Coogan” and “Michael Caine” and enjoy), and he builds a precise re-creation of Laurel’s voice and gestures. Coogan’s fussiness works for the role, too: Laurel was the creative mind behind the duo’s routines, and Coogan makes you suspect Laurel might have been a little envious of his partner’s ability to goof off and have fun.

If Coogan does a splendid impersonation, Reilly gives a full performance as “Babe” Hardy. This is a moving look at an easygoing guy, in bad health and aware of his declining abilities, who might be participating in this sketchy tour just to please his old friend.

“Stan & Ollie” has a bonus: screenwriter Jeff Pope (he wrote Coogan’s “Philomena”) and director Jon S. Baird make room for a second comedy duo. Stan and Ollie’s wives, Ida (an uproarious Nina Arianda) and Lucille (tiny Shirley Henderson), respectively, get their own comic energy going — Ida a Russian bossypants, Lucille a wry peacemaker.

These two great actresses could easily carry a movie on their own, and they add just the right dash of salt to prevent “Stan & Ollie” from reducing itself to a nostalgic stew.

“Stan & Ollie” (3 stars)

A snapshot of the peerless comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, glimpsed as they struggle through the sunset of their career on a live tour of Britain in the ’50s. The material is sentimental, but the casting makes the movie worth a look: Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly re-create some of the duo’s classic routines with great affection.

Rating: PG, for subject matter

Opening: Southcenter, Lincoln Square, Regal Meridian, Regal Thornton Place

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Photo courtesy of Graphite Arts Center
Amelia DiGiano’s photography is part of the “Seeing Our Planet” exhibit, which opens Friday and runs through Aug. 9 at the Graphite Arts Center in Edmonds.
A&E Calendar for July 10

Send calendar submissions for print and online to features@heraldnet.com. To ensure your… Continue reading

Snohomish County Dahlia Society members Doug Symonds and Alysia Obina on Monday, March 3, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How to grow for show: 10 tips for prize-winning dahlias

Snohomish County Dahlia Society members share how they tend to their gardens for the best blooms.

What’s Up columnist Andrea Brown with a selection of black and white glossy promotional photos on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Free celeb photos! Dig into The Herald’s Hollywood time capsule

John Wayne, Travolta, Golden Girls and hundreds more B&W glossies are up for grabs at August pop-up.

The 2025 Audi A3 premium compact sedan (Provided by Audi).
2025 Audi A3 upgradesdesign and performance

The premium compact sedan looks sportier, acts that way, too.

Edmonds announces summer concert lineup

The Edmonds Arts Commission is hosting 20 shows from July 8 to Aug. 24, featuring a range of music styles from across the Puget Sound region.

Big Bend Photo Provided By Ford Media
2025 Ford Bronco Sport Big Bend Increases Off-Road Capability

Mountain Loop Highway Was No Match For Bronco

Cascadia College Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Midori Sakura looks in the surrounding trees for wildlife at the North Creek Wetlands on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Cascadia College ecology students teach about the importance of wetlands

To wrap up the term, students took family and friends on a guided tour of the North Creek wetlands.

Mustang Convertible Photo Provided By Ford Media Center
Ford’s 2024 Ford Mustang Convertible Revives The Past

Iconic Sports Car Re-Introduced To Wow Masses

Kim Crane talks about a handful of origami items on display inside her showroom on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Crease is the word: Origami fans flock to online paper store

Kim’s Crane in Snohomish has been supplying paper crafters with paper, books and kits since 1995.

The 2025 Nissan Murano midsize SUV has two rows of seats and a five-passenger capacity. (Photo provided by Nissan)
2025 Nissan Murano is a whole new machine

A total redesign introduces the fourth generation of this elegant midsize SUV.

A woman flips through a book at the Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Pop some tags at Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley

$20 buys an outfit, a unicycle — or a little Macklemore magic. Sales support the food bank.

The 2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI sport compact hatchback (Provided by Volkswagen).
2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI is a hot-hatch heartthrob

The manual gearbox is gone, but this sport compact’s spirit is alive and thriving.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.