Laurel And Hardy - Utopia DVD > Reviews > Not the Ideal

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Indifferent to it
Story	Satisfactory
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Unmemorable
How does it compare to similar films?	Satisfactory

Advantages:	A bit different .  .  .
Disadvantages:	Just too dated now, but read the review for full .

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

I cannot profess to being a Laurel and Hardy fan – I do not have their DVD’s lined up along a shelf and I don’t have posters of their inane grinning faces on my walls. I don’t walk along the street with a loud hailer shouting, ‘This comic duo are blooming ace, do you know that?’ No, I don’t have or do any of that, so why am I writing a review of this, their last film together? Why indeed…

Well, I purchased this in a shop for about 50p… that’s right, about 50p. I thought, “Icons of classic slapstick genius for fifty pence? You have to spend fifty pence to use the toilet in some, far off, expensive places.” I picked it up and took it to the till without further ado. I remembered I used to like watching their movies when I was a youngster, and I quite enjoyed them at the time. I was curious as to how they would appear to me now, given the fact that I was somewhat older. Plus, they are still well liked and well followed.

Before I talk about the story and the film itself (which is also know as ‘Atoll K’, and ‘Robinson Crusoeland’), here’s a bit of history. After working briefly together beforehand, they became actual team in 1927, a duo that spanned for over two decades, making such films as ‘Way out west.’ Stan Laurel (the skinny one) was born in 1890 in England and died in 1965, Oliver Hardy (the fatter one) was born in 1892 in USA, but died earlier in 1957. They were geniuses of slapstick comedy and Hardy usually played the brains of the outfit, whereas Laurel was the dumber of the two.

Directed by Leo Joannon, the plot to Utopia (1951) is simple enough. Stan Laurel inherits a wad of cash, an island and a boat from his dead uncle. Oliver Hardy is Stan’s financial manager. Solicitors soon cream off their fees and the taxman takes his share of the money and they are left with a pittance. So they set sail for the island on the boat. They are joined with by an immigrant and a stowaway. Their journey to the island is a slapstick enterprise and you find you want to scream at Laurel and his stupidity. For example, Hardy is trying to fix the boat and handing Laurel tools etc, which the idiot puts on the side of the boat, only for them to fall into the sea without him seeing this happen.

The boat hits heavy weather and Laurel and Hardy and the two other men get washed ashore on an island. Here they decide to fend for themselves, just like Robinson Crusoe. They are soon joined by a lady, whom they all fall for. The island is discovered by the lady’s ex lover and all kinds of problems then arise. I will not give too much more of the plot here, in case you decide to watch it.

Laurel and Hardy fans please look away now. As I have said I am not a fan of this duo and on this showing I am less so. This film has not dated too well and halfway through I was wondering why I was watching this drivel at all. After this movie, the two of them retired, and I can see why. There is no depth of characters, and you have to suspend your disbelief to the point that you feel light headed. The slapstick is just too annoying for my taste. I wanted to like this film and I watched it with no precognition. But I did not. I was on the fence – the fence shattered beneath me - and afterwards I felt let down. The actors just looked very old as well (but I guess they were in their late fifties).

Laurel and Hardy fans please read on. Okay, I was not impressed, but I know there are a lot of Laurel and Hardy fans out there. This is not a classic by any means, but it does have the usual classic slapstick comedy that made them famous. They could act and they could do comedy.

Run time - 1 Hour 22 minutes approx.

Also starring:

Suzy Delair as Cherie
Max Elloy as Antoine
Adriano Rimoldi as Giovanni