Praise for stars Steve Coohan and John C Reilly

Steve Coogan has been praised for his starring role in the new Laurel and Hardy biopic, Stan & Ollie.

The comic plays Laurel to John C Reilly’s Hardy in the film, which explores the friendship and loyalty that bound the double-act together.

It is set in 1953, well past their heyday, when they are playing half-empty theatres and staying in seedy digs as they tour the UK and Ireland in a last-ditch attempt to revive their careers.

The movie received its world premiere as the closing gala of the London Film Festival last night, with critics heaping praise on both lead actors.

Calling it a ‘polished, revealing, accessible biopic’, the Daily Telegraph praised Coogan especially, saying: ‘His Stan is a portrait of a genius: a subtly played, deeply felt study of a man at odds with the world around him, yet so sharply attuned to its ridiculousness that he can somehow sum it up in a look, a stumble, a shrug.’

The Guardian said both leads offered ‘brilliant impersonations’ of the comedy icons, ‘the kind that can only be achieved by exceptionally intelligent actors; the superb technique of both is matched by their obvious love for the originals’.

The Independent said Coogan ‘has that thin-faced, hapless, head-scratching, little boy lost look that Laurel always showed on screen’, while in a five-star review The Times said: ‘Coogan and Reilly don’t just deliver impressions of their subjects, they incarnate them.’

And from the US, The Hollywood Reporter said Coogan  ‘slips neatly into the role of the duo's brains and writer.’

Stan & Ollie is released nationwide on January 11. Here’s a trailer:

Published: 22 Oct 2018