A Brilliant Conflict

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Excuses Excuses Stan and Ollie convince their wives that they can't go with them on a Vacation.They con-cocked a story of illness to stay behind.The whole short takes place in Ollie's abode complete with bathtub and boot jack remover.Pulling and tugging and trying to remove Ollie's tight boots that really belong to Stanley's feet. Hilarious for 5 minutes but the majority of the short focuses on the failure of the boot removal accompanied by that horrible background music which sounds like someone trying to defecate in a factory toilet.The only viewers who would be pleased would be the National Rifle Association when the wives come home with there shotgun in hands ready to fire!

One of the weaker Laurel and Hardy shorts from 1931.Stan, Ollie and their wives (Anita Garvin and Isabelle Keith) are off on a vacation. They are almost ready to go when Ollie gets a phone call from his friend Cookie (Baldwin Cook) saying the lads down his club are giving a party in Stan and Ollie's honour. He reluctantly agrees to go along. He feigns illness, tells his wife he'll be fine in a day, Stan will look after him, then they will meet them on vacation. They somehow agree to this. Stan and Ollie get their outfits ready for the party, but due to a mix up of boots, Ollie can't get Stan's boot off. And will the wives get to their train on time...This is a great situation which worked so well in the previous short 'Blotto', lie to the wives to go out with the lads. 'Be Big' is in someways a forerunner to 'Sons of the Desert' which is probably Laurel & Hardy's greatest ever film together. Here was a similar situation, lie to the wives and using illness as an excuse. Also, the club Stan and Ollie are in during 'Be Big' is similar to that of 'The Sons of the Desert' and the Sons of the Desert theme tune also plays during whilst they are getting their costumes on.Yet the problem with 'Be Big' is that the gag of Stan trying to get the boot off Ollie lasts way too long. It takes up about half of the film and it's a three wheeler. This would have been a much better film had it had been a two wheeler. How many laughs can you possibly get from Stan trying to take a boot off Ollie? Apparently in some foreign language editions of this film, the boot gag goes on longer. That must have been borderline torture to watch.'Be Big' had a great situation, but the over-use of material spoilt the effort. There was no need for it to be a three wheeler. It is little wonder when watching this film Stan Laurel was reluctant to make a 'Laurel & Hardy' feature film. 'Be Big' is a case of the Stan & Ollie resting on their laurels (ba dumb tish).

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in history, and deservedly so, so I am happy to see any of their films. Ollie and Stan are packed for a trip to Atlantic City with their wives (Isabelle Keith and Anita Garvin). But then Ollie gets a phone call from their friend Cookie (Baldwin Cooke) who invites them to a surprise stag party, he originally refuses because of the wives, but he agrees when he hears of things to expect. So Ollie gets talcum powder on his face, and pretends to be very sick to fool the wives, and Stan as well, and they go without them. So the wives leave for the train station without the boys, and they start dressing in their special clothes, while the wives find out that they just missed the train, and go back. While dressing for the stag night, Ollie manages to get his boot stuck on his foot, only to realise that he has got Stan's pair, so there is a big struggle to get one boot off. They try pulling hard on the rocking chair, using the boot jack and a little hammering, manoeuvring on the fold away bed, and a final backwards fall into the bath. Eventually the wives return home, and the boys hide in the fold away bed, and when the wives know why, they shoot the boys (in the bed) through the window, crashing, and landing in the below pond. Also starring Charlie Hall as Bellboy. Filled with good slapstick and all classic comedy you want from a black and white film, it is an enjoyable film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Worth watching!

Stan, Ollie and their wives are going on a trip to Atlantic City, but when Ollie gets a call from a friend saying a stag party is being thrown in his (and Stan's) honor, he cannot resist. The boys get themselves into their usual bit of trouble, although the laughs here are a bit strained, most notably in the long winded boot sequence which went on entirely too long.