I loved them.

John C Reilly and Steve Coogan were great.

"The Bullfighter", it was not very good, but it was interesting. I thought Steve Coogan and John Reilly both were great in "Stan and Ollie".

less than amazing

When the reproduction of some of Laurel and Hardy's material makes one laugh out loud, they are doing something right

You refer to it as bit melancholy, and I guess it was, but I might characterize it as more sentimental than melancholy, and the reconciliation gave a completeness to the story, that was satisfying

In my view it was a beautiful tribute to the life long friendship, and team of Laurel, Hardy, and their spouses

Definitely agree with the OP

the two leads. It could have rolled off the rails so many times but it remained sturdy. If you loved the actors you should love this film. The scene when Stan stares at the poster of Abbott & Costello Go To Mars seems to linger on my mind. I think Abbott and Costello themselves were on the way out in 1953. Martin and Lewis were on top of the world that year. Thirty or forty years from now people will question why this film didn't receive more Oscar nominations.