Comedy Gold, or another fine mess?

Laurel and Hardy are before my time…long before my time, and unfortunately I have never actually watched anything that they have done on film.

So I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it.

Steve Coogan and John C Reilly are the main men and really look and act the part. From the bits I have seen, they absolutely nail them both.

The problem I have with the film is that the film itself just isn’t that great.

It starts with the comedy duo in their prime, but swiftly jumps forward 16 years to them embarking upon their final tour, a tour of the UK starting in Newcastle then working its way across the country. They have only just got back together after a rift and there’s tension between the two of them, but hey, the show must go on yeah?

And on it does go.

I felt like we’re not seeing enough of what Laurel and Hardy were all about. We are watching the demise of one of the greatest comedy acts ever…and it all feels like I am very much late to a party that’s being thrown for someone else.

But, the highlights for me were high indeed. You have Coogan and Reilly absolutely on point and in their elements. They perform famous routines amazingly…and as someone who was seeing the Double Door act and the Hospital Bed act for the very first time, I genuinely found it funny…it just wasn’t enough for me.

3/5