Justice Is Served..."Stir Crazy"

Stir Crazy (1980)

Rated R

Starring Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Barry Corbin, Georg Stanford Brown,

Directed by Sidney Poitier

The Story:

Skip (Wilder) and Harry (Pryor) leave New York and head west to start over. When the duo are accused of robbing a bank, they are tried and convicted most expeditiously to begin serving their time in jail. When Skip shows a propensity to be able to ride a mechanical bull, the warden (Corbin) sees dollar signs in the annual upcoming rodeo contest, and Skip and Harry see a way out of their predicament.

The second of four comedies between Wilder and Pryor, I had decided to rent this one again since I hadn't seen it since probably 1980/81 and remembered very little about it.

Aside from the "that's right, we bad" scene and the dancing birds costumes, that was probably the sum total of my memory.

I watched this a few weeks back, and added the movie to my "To Be Reviewed" pile, probably as a #ThrowbackThursday review.

Then Gene Wilder passed away, and I debated, do I do a R.I.P. Gene tribute piece or not?

To be fair, I enjoyed Wilder's performances in just about anything I saw from him, but sadly, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silver Streak, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil were pretty much my entire catalog of Wilder's works.

But look at that list again.

That's a pretty impressive list of comedies all on their own merits.

Wilder actually steals most of the scenes he is in, even though it's a lock that Pryor's character is normally the crazier, funnier one in their duos.

Wilder brings an everyman approach to the role. His characters seem honest, unassuming and likable.

So when he rides the mechanical bull like it's nothing, you have no doubt in your mind that he's as happy on that bull as we are to be watching him.

So we've lost another Hollywood great, but he's left behind a pretty good legacy on film.

Even Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, though that movie is just too creepy to really be enjoyable.

:)

So if you're up for a laugh, you'll be hard-pressed to not find one under the Wilder/Pryor catalog.

Though I still have one more that I've never seen.

Hmmm....

Final Grade: Solid B

Two For Tuesday - "Richard Pryor: Omit The Logic & Richard Pryor: Icon"

Richard Pryor: Icon (2014)

PBS

Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic - B+

Rated R

Directed by Marina Zenovich



The Stories:

Both documentaries take a look at the rise and tragic end to one of the greatest comedic performers of the 20th Century, Richard Pryor. Archival footage from many of his performances are used, as well as interviews from people that knew Pryor and those that were influenced by his comedy.

Both are good ways to get your feet wet on the history and impact of Richard Pryor.

Icon, part of the PBS series, clocks in just under an hour and follows the rise to stardom in the 60s until the end. They often repeat many of the pictures during the show and while a nice primer, it doesn't really break any ground or do much to showcase Pryor, except for hearing lots of people telling you how great he was.

Omit the Logic on the other hand is almost 90 minutes, and since it isn't airing on PBS uses much more audio and video of Pryor's comedy routines which helps solidify the fact that everyone found him to be hilarious. A little bit more of his life is mentioned in this documentary and it feels more well-rounded. The one piece either film was missing would have been to get some commentary from Gene Wilder since the two were linked so strongly together through film.

At the end of the day, you can't go wrong with either, or both.

Pryor was a genius, and he paved a way for generations of comics to follow.

Icon is currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grades:

Richard Pryor: Icon: B-

Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic: B+

Murder Most Fun! "See No Evil, Hear No Evil"

See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)

Rated R for language and nudity

Starring Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, Joan Severance, Kevin Spacey

Directed by Arthur Hiller

The Story:

Wally (Pryor) is blind. Dave (Wilder) is deaf.  They are both witness to a murder committed by Eve (Severance).  The problem, nobody believes them, and when they escape from the police to find the killer themselves, the chase is on!

Hahahahaha... I forgot how funny this movie was.

I really only remembered the line "Fuzzy wuzzy was a woman".

If you've never seen the film before, you'll understand after you watch it.

If you have, it should bring back pleasant memories.

Reuniting Wilder and Pryor was a no-brainer that Hollywood simply failed to take full advantage of.

They teamed with Hiller, their director from the first collaboration, Silver Streak, and once again murder most foul played an important role in the storyline.

Amusingly, the object that everyone is chasing after is almost an afterthought by the end of the film.

Instead, the fun is having a blind and deaf guy chase bad guys across town while evading the police.

There are several hilarious gags that unfold during the film, and Pryor and Wilder sell it like the comedic champs they are.

Also, a very notable, largish role for Kevin Spacey before he became... Kevin Spacey!

Available for streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Very funny stuff.  It had been about 25 years since I last saw it.  Hopefully I don't wait as long next time.