We often talk about movie stars, who hide under layers of "meek" and prosthetics, to the extent that they can not recognize their faces.

If we did not read in the technical news that Christian Bell was the character of Dick Cheney in the movie "Vice", what we knew during the movie, the same applies to Gary Oldman in the role of Winston Churchill, in the darkest hour, or Tilda Swinson in the role of a man in "Sperberia", or even Margo Ruby in "Mary Queen of Scots".

For Stann and O'Leary, a sad biography of the famous comedian Laurel and Hardy, actor John C. Riley spent four hours a day on the mike chair to turn it into American Oliver Hardy. But it does not necessarily apply to his co-star Steve Cogan, who is said to have spent only minutes, to be translated into English by Stan Laurel.

The film, directed by John S. Beard, is free of unnecessary additions and focuses on one part of the duo's life, the 1953 British tour, two decades after the duo.

The film begins with moments of the duo's life in 1937, when Laurel and Hardy were equally popular in Hollywood, making successful films one after the other in favor of the Hull Roche Studios. (Roche, actor Danny Houston, son of legendary American director John Houston, The famous Angelica Houston, a terrible embodiment, despite the short duration of his appearance on the screen).

In fact, Riley and Kogan represent two double roles: the role of the miserable duo in front of the camera. Laurel is a struggling idiot, and Hardy is in the role of the fool who thinks he does important things in life, and ends up as a joke.

In fact, the camera behind them sees two different personalities: Laurel is the smart ambition that thinks of the entrepreneurial mentality, while Hardy is the dreamer who can not hide his weaknesses. When they work as a team, we see magic in front of the camera, and two friends or partners behind.

We move to Newcastle England in 1953, and we see Laurel and Hardy arrive at a modest hotel, indicating that they have a poor appetite for their shows. The duo is here in middle age for both of them, seeing them on a touring tour, or sometimes taking part in carnivals, dinners, even as referees in beauty contests! While Laurel is trying to secure funding for their film project, which they hope will bring them back to the fore.

On the stage, their performance is excellent, despite the diminishing attendance, and certainly the sight of the empty seats is painful for all the celebrities, who make live performances, including football players, and we see this clearly in the eyes of the sad heroes who are trying to deny the painful reality in front of them.

At the same time, we see Hardy suffering from health problems because of the large increase in his weight, and he perspires and sweats until he is overcome by a heart attack, while Laurel barely conceals the sadness in his eyes, as you remember that the younger or new audiences do not know that this giant comedian It was once the greatest in the world.

Although the film is about the most famous duo in the film "Laurel and Hardy," the director deliberately names the film with their first names Stan and Oli. If the world knows them, Clorell and Hardy, they know each other as Stan and O'Leary. The name also indicates that the film is the story of the duo "personal" rather than a career.

The film is not mocking as a "vice", both autobiography, but it sounds very sad, as director Byrd and writer Jeff Bob ask a question to the viewer: How would you feel if you could no longer practice your passion?

Except for his role in Magnolia, and his role in the Brothers Sisters, the role is not just a physical tradition, but a man whose body decided to avenge his lifestyle in his youth. The most powerful moments of Hardy's character are his inability to keep up with time. The man we see in 1953, where most of the film's events revolve, has no vitality compared to his short scenes in 1937, except for comedy shows and dances.

The performance of Kogan is no less than his partner, and the actors enjoy exceptional harmony on the screen, so much so that we believe that they - Riley and Kogan - work together for two decades, not just this film. Laurel, who is in charge of writing film scripts and composing jokes and handcuffs, does not stop proposing new ideas to develop his performance through Hardy's performance, which creates a funny movement from exploiting his partner's movement. As if we see a movement of tension and attraction between the two, and this is precisely what gives their offers the factor of originality.

In a scene that is the height of their fame, we see Laurel recruiting Hardy, demanding a pay rise from Roche, especially that Hardy is steeped in debt, because of his recent bets in horse racing.

Lorel was out of the office of a studio in Britain after his request to fund a movie was rejected. As he walked through the street with a poster that smashed his heart, and the heart of everyone passing through the same experiment, the new comedian "Abbott and Costello" Who pulled the rug of fame and the masses of «Laurel and Hardy». Lorel looks at the poster very sadly and then goes on his way.

Lorel and Hardy's fame dates back to the 1920s, until their sun set in the mid-1940s, when Abbott and Costello emerged in the late 1930s and fell in the mid-1950s.

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The most powerful scene was a silent scene: we see Laurel coming out of a studio after refusing his request for a movie. He passes a poster that smashed his heart, and the heart of everyone who goes through the same experiment.

If the world knows them, Clorell and Hardy, they know their names as Stan and Oli, a sign of their friendship and familiarity.

1937

The year that saw the unrivaled popularity of Laurel and Hardy in Hollywood, and made successful films.