STAN and OLLIE Biopic Comedy with Steve Coogen and John C Riley is Hardley Worth Laurels

STAN & OLLIE is a biopic comedy duo about Laurel (b UK 1890-1965) & Hardy (b US 1892-1957) is best described by the characters when criticizing each other as "hallow" & "lazy."  The film directed by John Baird (b Scotland) covers the pair from their pinnacle of fame in 1937 in Hollywood to the UK 1953 on a 2nd tier tour as their popularity waned.  The movie doesn't spotlight how the two came to together to become one of the most popular acts in its heydays (1930s).  Their style was slapstick, bumbling comedy schtick.  Rather, the focus is on the years of dimming notoriety as their act grows stale while other comics are riding the rails to stardom.  (Note:  Stan & Ollie standing in front of a large billboard advertising a film with Abbott & Costello).  Was the film funny?  No.  Was it any fun?  Not really.  It was dreary watching Stan maintain a sanguine facade to cover the cracks in the veneer of fading success.  The two stayed too true to their winning formula which goes out of favor.  Stan (a superb Steve Coogen) appears as the brains & force behind the scenes while Ollie (the always imperturbable John C Riley) remains the bulky, frustrated fall guy.  Nina Arianda as Stan's wife steals every scene & pumps some vitality into this somewhat charming but ultimately disappointingly dull dramatization.  Stan had a heavy drinking hand, Ollie a ruinous gambling habit and both had a soft spot for the ladies.   The film shines on their love for their wives in their golden years.  The women have an ongoing hate/love relationship with each other.  The greatest love of all seems to be between Stan & Ollie which slides all the way down from touching to too sentimental.  I have to scratch my head on STAN and OLLIE.  It certainly is - NOT - a big hit.