Stan & Ollie

Is a dramatization of the late career of the legendary comedy team of Laurel & Hardy, the basic shtick of their act having diminutive Stan Laurel's bumbling and naivete causing havoc for rotund straight man Oliver Hardy. A creation of Hal Roach, the duo hit their peak of popularity in the late 1930s when a contract dispute specifically between Laurel and Roach led to a temporary split between Laurel and Hardy. That period also marked personal issues for each including multiple failed marriages, money problems exacerbated for Hardy by gambling, and excessive substance use. It's now 1953, long after much of the public believes they had long retired in their faded popularity, but they having overcome many of their individual personal problems in each being in what looks to be a settled marriage, and each having sworn off smoking and drinking. With the help of promoter Bernard Delfont who pays them little attention in focusing on his up and coming act Norman Wisdom, Laurel and Hardy embark on a music hall tour throughout Great Britain and Ireland of their own revue. They only agreed to the tour so that they could promote the act in trying to secure funding from producer Harold J. Miffin for a new Laurel and Hardy movie penned by Laurel, it to be a spoof of the Robin Hood tale. They want Miffin to attend the show once it hits London. The tour brings up the issue of if Laurel and Hardy have passed their "best by" date and by association if there is any public appetite for them to star in a movie, and being a professional creation whether each of Laurel and Hardy have ever had any investment in the other beyond advancing their careers, either as a team or as individuals. Beyond these items, real life issues beyond their control affects what happens.