It is the late summer of 1957, and Stan Laurel has been hiding for months. He's screening one of his very first films on a home projector when his wife appears, telling him that he must talk to Oliver Hardy's wife immediately. "Yes! Yes! I know! She called because I haven't been talking to Babe! Doesn't she know I haven't been talking to anybody!?" he responds, quite frustrated. Quitely, his wife confides: "She called to tell that 'Babe' won't be here tomorrow." I'd be surprised if this wasn't the first time a movie made me cry after less than five minutes. It's also one of the very few TV movies to ever make me cry at all; in fact, I wept more or less throughout the viewing. In this hour-long, frank but respectful dramatization of the men behind Laurel & Hardy, we are offered touching insights into what the one man meant to the other, both in a professional and personal way.
First of all, don't expect STAN to be a biography; not a detailed one, anyway. While it depends on few significant inaccuracies, it is how our heroes are brought to life, through some incredible characterizations and a well narrated, heartfelt script that are the main forces of the film. The performance that impressed me the most, I think, was Jim Norton's portrayal of the elder Stan. He not only physically resembles the comedian quite a bit, but he also manages to capture the complexity and mannerisms that one expects from such a partly troubled comic genius. While his difficult traits are covered by all means, he does in the end come off as a really nice guy who simply didn't always know how to handle certain problems in life; in other words, he was pretty much like everybody else, with his amazing comic gift being the exception. Although that gift was most evident in his active years, it is put beyond any doubt that it always remained with him; at one point, the elder Stan improvises an hilarious sketch to the dying Hardy, involving the boys going off to outer space by accident! But even though Stan was the major gag-man, Laurel & Hardy would never have hit without the other half, which thankfully is made every bit as clear. Hardy had as much of acting talent as his pal, which the elder Stan here expresses beautifully. However, as he didn't spend much time at the studio after working hours, in contrast to Stan, his contributions have to a large degree been overshadowed, and, I say it a last time now, so very undeservedly so. You may not have considered it before, but the bewildered, utterly ridiculous gestures of Laurel wouldn't have been so exasperatedly funny without Hardy's unpredictable temper, with his long, quietly frustrated staring into the camera.
Trevor Cooper isn't given much to say as the dying Hardy, but his performance as a man beware of his critical situation whilst unable to fight it is flawless. I often expected him to burst out one of his trademark lines, even though I knew it wouldn't happen. Likewise, Mike Goodenough was superb as the younger "Babe," especially on the few instances when he impersonated him as seen on screen. Nik Howden has got the most praise for his portrayal of the younger Stan, and he is very good indeed, although I think he occasionally tended to fall into a trap all too common for anyone playing full-blooded, proud English-men, and exaggerate a bit. But that is only a minor complaint.
Even though it really wasn't necessary, what STAN did to me was reminding me how highly I regard the boys and how much their comedy has meant to me, indifferent what mood I'm in. I warmly recommend it to any fan of the boys, and wish it would see a release on DVD soon.
First of all, don't expect STAN to be a biography; not a detailed one, anyway. While it depends on few significant inaccuracies, it is how our heroes are brought to life, through some incredible characterizations and a well narrated, heartfelt script that are the main forces of the film. The performance that impressed me the most, I think, was Jim Norton's portrayal of the elder Stan. He not only physically resembles the comedian quite a bit, but he also manages to capture the complexity and mannerisms that one expects from such a partly troubled comic genius. While his difficult traits are covered by all means, he does in the end come off as a really nice guy who simply didn't always know how to handle certain problems in life; in other words, he was pretty much like everybody else, with his amazing comic gift being the exception. Although that gift was most evident in his active years, it is put beyond any doubt that it always remained with him; at one point, the elder Stan improvises an hilarious sketch to the dying Hardy, involving the boys going off to outer space by accident! But even though Stan was the major gag-man, Laurel & Hardy would never have hit without the other half, which thankfully is made every bit as clear. Hardy had as much of acting talent as his pal, which the elder Stan here expresses beautifully. However, as he didn't spend much time at the studio after working hours, in contrast to Stan, his contributions have to a large degree been overshadowed, and, I say it a last time now, so very undeservedly so. You may not have considered it before, but the bewildered, utterly ridiculous gestures of Laurel wouldn't have been so exasperatedly funny without Hardy's unpredictable temper, with his long, quietly frustrated staring into the camera.
Trevor Cooper isn't given much to say as the dying Hardy, but his performance as a man beware of his critical situation whilst unable to fight it is flawless. I often expected him to burst out one of his trademark lines, even though I knew it wouldn't happen. Likewise, Mike Goodenough was superb as the younger "Babe," especially on the few instances when he impersonated him as seen on screen. Nik Howden has got the most praise for his portrayal of the younger Stan, and he is very good indeed, although I think he occasionally tended to fall into a trap all too common for anyone playing full-blooded, proud English-men, and exaggerate a bit. But that is only a minor complaint.
Even though it really wasn't necessary, what STAN did to me was reminding me how highly I regard the boys and how much their comedy has meant to me, indifferent what mood I'm in. I warmly recommend it to any fan of the boys, and wish it would see a release on DVD soon.