Reviving the classic antics of the premiere comedy duo of the 1930’s is no joke. A new movie, Stan & Ollie, features performances by John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan, based on the final tour of the very lean Stan Laurel and the very large Oliver Hardy, as their fame declined. With a script by Jeff Pope and under the fine direction of Jon S. Baird, the comic team comes live, a testament to the talents of this cast. New audiences will be introduced to a historic moment in entertainment, the visual gags and simplicity of the time. Audiences for whom Laurel & Hardy were childhood staples will delight at the laughs, and will be moved by the underside of their hilarity, the resilience of their friendship, the challenges of maintaining celebrity.
This week Sony Pictures Classics celebrated the movie with a screening at Lincoln Center followed by dinner at Lincoln Ristorante. Many New York-based actors and filmmakers attended, as well as the Lebanese filmmaking couple, Nadine Labaki who directed the extraordinary film Capernaum, and her husband, Khaled Mouzanar, the film’s composer. John C. Reilly held forth explaining the ordeal of adding jowl to his round face—the handy work of the prosthetics makeup designer, Mark Coulier--, and the difficulties of wearing a fat suit. They had to rig him with a cooling device so he didn’t overheat. Cindy Adams was smitten.
Throughout, the comedy team sports hats, from bowlers to berets, the chapeaux becoming a symbol of their friendship. Shirley Henderson and Nina Arianda play their wives in equally funny performances. Arianda’s Ida adds her own shtick in a thick Russian accent refusing to be seating with the manager. The very tall John C. Reilly is in a number of movies this season including The Sisters Brothers, produced by his real wife Alison Dickey who joined in the party; tall and slim, Reilly wears a ten-gallon cowboy hat.
Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura
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