Ersbel Oraph
I like Richard Prior. I like Gene Wilder. And they are quite good at what they do. But this is some light comedy that makes fun of something not that fun. And for this to be happening things have to be made even more ridiculous. Of course the prison guard has no problem being treated like an extra on a Marx Brothers movie. Of course there is violence, but it is limited. Of course, in the 1980 in United States there was no racism and nobody noticed something special at Richard Prior. His character does act differently, but with no apparent reason as he is treated nice and fair. Ain't that a dream come true?
TonyMontana96
(Originally reviewed: 10/01/2017) I do not recall a single laugh in this painfully unfunny piece of work. Wilder and Pryor have comedic chemistry but the script of Stir Crazy forces them to improvise, making the humor come off as embarrassing. I do not understand what people saw in this film back in 1980, gags such as two guys dancing around in a jailhouse pretending to be crazy and a gay stereotypical guy (who is also black) are just embarrassingly pathetic, rather than one bit amusing. There is but small things preventing this from being a total zero, some hot chicks dancing in a strip club and a small scene involving Wilder and JoBeth Williams, where there is some hint at witty dialogue, which can at least draw a smile from me, if nothing else with the exception of a line in the same scene, where Wilder says " More Americans should go to jail" (because he enjoys it) and his lawyer played by Len Garber says " Oh don't worry, more Americans will". On the other hand none of this can prevent the onslaught of boredom that sinks in afterwards. Stir Crazy has one half of alleged comedy, then has a change of agenda by becoming a prison break thriller in the second half ,as they do not make any further attempt at humor. What on earth were they thinking? If I ever do get into a conversation with someone who mentions See No Evil, Hear No Evil being a better comedy, I will reply, but of course See No Evil, Hear No Evil was funnier, but then again so was the Titanic.
lacicalifornia
I first watched this movie as a kid in cinemas I had to go and watch it like 10 more times.my stomach was in cramps every time and tears were coming out of my eyes of laughter.Right from the beginning jokes and one liners.At the lunch when Henry finds out his drug was used as oregano.The Californian earthquake line as epic as any. But of course the most funny scenes are in prison,especially when they pretend the are bad.Unforgettable! I cannot analyse this movie or any other the way critics do.As long as I like it and entertains me or makes me thinking then it works for me. The only flaw of this one probably the last 10 minutes of it,when you don't get any more laughter only the outcome of their attempt to escape from prison.But even this works as the storyline requires an ending. The team of Wilder and Pryor at their very best.U wanna have a good time u must watch this!!!
tavm
Not having seen this in about 30 years, I didn't know if I'd still think Sidney Poitier's Stir Crazy was as funny as I originally thought it was. I just watched it again on Netflix Streaming and the answer is yes! I mean, from the set up beginning sequences with Richard Pryor as a waiter and Gene Wilder as a store detective, there's plenty of funny stuff here. By the time they get to prison, Pryor and Wilder try lots of crazy stuff that still got me in stitches especially when Richard's character has to deal with a gay inmate named Rory Schultebrand (Georg Standford Brown) who has a fancy for him. Fellow inmates Gene and Richard befriend include Jusus Ramirez (Miguel Angel Suavez) and Grossberger (Erland Van Lidth De Jeude). The latter doesn't talk but he does provide a nice singing voice that compliments Gene's in a later duet. Others they meet in the cell include Blade (Charles Weldon), Big Mean (Cedrick Hardman), his sidekick-Slowpoke (Grand L. Bush), and a guy who punches the former (Tony Burton). Outside of the jail are many now-familiar faces like Joel Brooks as lawyer Len Garber, JoBeth Williams as cousin Meredith, her future Poltergeist co-star Craig T. Nelson as deputy Ward Wilson, and Barry Corbin as warden Walter Beatty who has the distinction of appearing in two 1980 movies featuring the mechanical bull, the other being Urban Cowboy. Since this is Black History Month, I'd like to complete this review by citing three more African-American players other than Pryor, Brown, Weldon, Hardman, Bush, and Burton: Franklyn Ajaye-who previously appeared with Pryor in Car Wash-as a young man in hospital ward that accidentally got a nut cut off, Esther Sutherland as the cook Sissie in the beginning sequence, and Pamela Poitier-Sidney's daughter-as the cook's helper. So on that note, I highly recommend Stir Crazy. Oh, and I also noticed Luis Avalos-the guy named Chico who uses pliers for sinister purposes-from my childhood TV show, "The Electric Company" from the '70s.
AD
