Baird gives both of these actors (each a master of improvisation) the necessary space to play off each other. But aside from the opening long take that spans many different film sets on a Hollywood back lot, there’s little stylistic invention or narrative aspiration elsewhere in the film.
This glimpse of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy’s final days as a double act is the most bittersweet of comedies, underplayed at every turn, but then, like the boys themselves, unexpectedly light on its feet.
Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly deliver dynamite performances that capture the expressions and physicality of the star comedians without ever descending into caricature.
With all this rich material, and two actors who have committed themselves so fully to the roles, Baird and Pope make the mistake of pushing too hard when it isn't necessary.