December 2, 2011

  • I'm Laurel, He's Hardy

     

    This article ran in Friday's Asbury Park Press.

    ANOTHER FINE MESS
    Laurel and Hardy's timeless comedy captured on new DVD set
    By Ed Kaz !
    Comedy Correspondent

    When I was growing up in central New Jersey, there were maybe three and a half TV stations; not much of an entertainment choice in the pre-Internet era.  I’d arise very early with hopes of catching the cartoon “Crusader Rabbit” or perhaps even “The Modern Farmer” (I learned a lot about growing beets back then; maybe I missed my vocation).  On Saturday they'd run Abbott and Costello movies at noon on Channel 11, while the Bowery Boys ruled the airwaves on Channel 5 every Sunday.  And if you were a Chuck McCann fan (and who wasn’t?), his program regularly featured the films of Laurel and Hardy.

    Laurel and Hardy, bless their souls.  They practically invented what we now call "situation comedy."  Clearly, without them there'd be no Honeymooners(think: Kramden and Norton), and no Seinfeld (think: Kramer and Newman).  HBO's "Bored to Death" would be literally that if not for the spiritual guidance of Stan and Ollie.  “Laurel and Hardy, that’s almost beautiful,” comedian Steven Wright told me a few years back. “Their characters are so much more likeable and almost like out of a Dickens thing in a way;  really funny but also very touching," said Wright.  "There’s like a sympathy to them.”



    Indeed, Laurel and Hardy took the mindless slapstick of early cinema comedy and gave it a big ol’ heart.  They’d play it broad and they’d play it subtle--often at the same time--and that’s why they’re still funny today.  It would take many pages of intellectual discourse to explain the appeal of this derby-domed duo, but all you really need to do is watch “Sons of the Desert” from the brand new DVD “Laurel and Hardy: The Essential Collection.”  Here, all the elements of sitcom are in place: Stan and Ollie want to attend their fraternal organization’s convention in Chicago without their wives, so they construct an elaborate deception involving Ollie being sick and needing to go with Stan (alone of course) to Hawaii to recuperate.  Of course, the ship they are supposed to be on sinks.  Talk about “another fine mess.”  How ever will they get themselves out of this pickle?  Oh, and did I mention that Stan's wife owns a shotgun?

    And "Sons of the Desert" is just one example.  Dozens of Laurel and Hardy’s perfectly executed comic “short subjects” and feature films from the 20s and 30s are beautifully preserved on this 10 DVD set.  If you want to know where all the good modern comedy comes from, this is surely the place to start.

                                                                                                      ---- Ed Kaz


    DVD:

    LAUREL AND HARDY: THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION

    RHI Entertainment

    Available in stores and online

    List Price: $99.98

    $65.99 on Amazon.com

    www.laurel-and-hardy.com