Being a life-long Laurel and Hardy fan and growing up with all of their features and shorts, specifically those made from 1929 to 1940, I can safely say these are some of the best works ever committed to celluloid. Though there are some I like more than others, and a few, like Be Big for example, never really sat well with me. I don't know, it's one I've never found to be that enjoyable, although it does have very funny moments, but it feels as though they had to make it in a very short amount of time as it seems to end without a real conclusion to the story. Not to mention, the boys have very little material to work with. So, let's dive in and see what's the big deal about Be Big. Our story opens with the Laurels and Hardys planning a trip to Atlantic City. Everything seems to be in order, they sound as though they'll have a good time, but then comes a telephone call out of the blue. It's Cookie, a member of the boys' lodge, who calls to inform Ollie that they're being thrown a stag party in their honor. He builds it up to be a big deal, but Ollie quickly turns him down, stating they have other plans and that "a Hardy's word is as firm as the Rock of Gibralter." However, when Cookie tells him some of the things they'll have at the party, I think a few other things become firm. It's funny that we don't hear what Cookie is saying to Ollie, either because it would've been too racy to say in a movie in 1931, or if it they thought it was funnier just seeing Ollie's reactions to some of the very obviously naughty things that would be waiting for them. Needless to say, Mr. Hardy is now sold, so Cookie tells him to make up an excuse to get out of the trip and come with Stan down to the lodge. After all, no man is bigger than the excuses he makes to his wife. He tells Ollie to be big. So what does Mr. Big do? He launches into dramatic mode and feigns a migraine headache. He moans and groans, blaming it on his nerves. When the girls suggest postponing the trip, Ollie insists they go on ahead and that Stan would stay with him. Fortunately, their wives aren't very sharp and don't see through their obvious ruse, so they leave the apartment. That's when Ollie tells Stan about the stag party, so they quickly rush to put on their lodge uniforms. Well, I've got to hand it to them, their trick actually worked. Sadly, I think we all know that it's only a matter of time before things start to go belly up. How's this for starters: when the wives arrive at the station, they find out they missed the last train to Atlantic City. Oh dear. They're sure the boys will be surprised to see them back... oh yes, they will.
Now, I'm not sure just what type of lodge Stan and Ollie belong to, but it seems to be the kind that makes its members wear dark sweaters with jockey pants and heel boots. The Loyal Order of Funky Dressers. Though Ollie seems to be having tremendous trouble getting his right boot on, so he asks Stan to help. However, in the process, he soon finds out that it was Stan's boot into which he was trying to wedge his enormous foot. As a result he tries to remove it, only now the darn thing won't come off. First, they try a boot jack, but then that becomes stuck as well. When trying to pull them off, Ollie tumbles out of his chair. Stan makes another attempt to pull off the boot, but ends up dragging Ollie around the room... right onto an exposed carpet tack. Ouch! Hey, guys, I have a suggestion: since this stag party obviously means a great deal to you since you lied to your wives to get out of a vacation you all wanted to go on, why don't you just go to the party as you are, and maybe there they can help you find a way to remove the boot, maybe with a pair of scissors? I mean, you're missing the party right now, the dancing girls or whatever "numbers" were performing are probably exhausted. No? Okay, well, just thought I'd give it a shot. So, after Stan pries the tack out of Ollie's buttocks, they calm down and try to look at the matter logically. There's nothing to getting a boot off. Well, no, but there are other variables to consider: by now Ollie's foot has probably swelled up inside of it. So he lays on the floor, holding the window curtains, while Stan stands on the Murphy bed... and voila, they don't remove the boot, but they do tear down the curtain rod, and even take out the window too. Then they get tangled in each others' clothes. Ha ha ha. You know, I just had another thought: shouldn't the wives be home by now? It didn't take them very long to get to the train station, so what's keeping them? Well, on the boys' next attempt, the Murphy bed closes on Stan, but opens on Ollie. Geez, this apartment is a real death trap, isn't it? The Hardys should ask for their deposit back. Once again, because Ollie seems to think this task is so simple, he demonstrates the removal of a boot by putting his on Stan's foot, then pulls it off with ease... so much ease that it sends him tumbling into a filled bathtub. The boot is still on, but now his sweater has been stretched into a dress... the latest in schoolmarm attire. LOL. It's then that Ollie asks, "what could be woise?" Oh no, don't say that, you know the answer will never be good. Lo and behold, there's the doorbell. Stan answers and the girls are shocked to see him in his lodge clothes, so he locks the door and he and Ollie hide in the Murphy bed. The wives, now realizing they've been had, grab loaded rifles that just happened to be sitting nearby and opened fire, sending the bed and the boys crashing through the wall. Wow, that escalated quickly, and I suppose we have to assume the worst because that's where the short ends. That's it, really? I mean, it's not as dark as the ending to Laughing Gravy (1931), but it's almost on par with Midnight Patrol (1933). I think a much funnier ending would've been the boys sitting up in the rubble, with Stan holding Ollie's boot. At first he panics thinking his foot was blown off, only to discover that it is still intact. He takes the boot from Stan and clonks him on the head with it. At least that's better than assuming their wives just committed a double homicide.
Like I said before, Be Big has plenty of laughs and excellent physical comedy, but the premise is threadbare: boot won't come off, try a bunch of useless solutions, when the obvious thing to do would be to either cut it off or go to the party anyway and worry about getting it off later. Be Big was never one of my favorites, and in some places, it's rather painful. Fortunately, it was remade, more or less, in 1933 as the boys' third feature, Sons of the Desert, which is MUCH better and arguably one of their finest films. The premise of feigning illness to get out of spending time with the wives was reused in the very first episode of The Flintstones, where Fred pretends he's ill and has Barney take care of him, so that they can go bowling instead of taking Wilma and Betty to the theater. Luckily the Flintstones never had to worry about boots. So, do I recommend Be Big? Sure, it's not a bad film, but it would definitely not rank among Laurel and Hardy's best. This one and Come Clean (1931), another short film with a few funny gags but no real plot and felt like a rush job. Also, this is one of three times where Stan was married to a woman who tried to murder him for lying to her. First was Blotto (1930), this film, and then Chickens Come Home (1931). I've heard of fury of a woman scorned, but this... whoo boy! So if you've seen their other works, you should see this one too. And remember, be big.
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