Michael_Elliott
The Toy (1982) * 1/2 (out of 4)Jack Brown (Richard Pryor) is hired by billionaire U.S. Bates (Jackie Gleason) to babysit his spoiled brat son Eric (Scott Schwartz). Before long Jack and Eric begin to bond and they also realize that daddy has a few secrets.THE TOY is a remake of a 1976 film that I haven't seen yet but I must say that this movie is one of the greatest mysteries in the history of cinema. How on Earth do two comedy legends appear together and make such an awful movie? I think the answer as far as Pryor is pretty simple. Siskel and Ebert reviewed several of his films and they had a great point when they mentioned that Pryor was an incredibly smart man who worked well on the stage when he could be lose and just let things flow. His intelligence and quick nature is what made him work.The problem with most of his films is that he doesn't play intelligent or quick. Instead he plays really stupid characters who often times are very slow with comebacks or anything else. Just take a look at the scene early on where Gleason's character calls him to stand by him. Pryor basically just stands there and makes weird noises and of course there aren't any laughs. Who would have loved for Pryor's fast-talking act to just lay into Gleason? Throughout this film Pryor's humor is obviously cut down to a PG level but the character is just so bland and boring and the actor does nothing with it.Gleason is actually a lot worse in his part. It doesn't even seem like there was an attempt to give him anything funny to do. He plays the rich elite quite well but it's just so straight-forward and bland to the point where I really don't recall him getting a single laugh. Ned Beatty isn't given much to do in his supporting role and Schwartz is okay as the child.THE TOY is pretty much a bust from the word go. Even more shocking is the fact that Richard Donner directed this mess and wasn't able to get anything from it.
SnoopyStyle
Jack Brown (Richard Pryor) is a struggling writer in Baton Rouge. He's even playing poker for food stamps. His family home is about to be auctioned off unless he can come up with $10k or get a job. In desperation, he applies for a maid's job for wealthy U.S. Bates (Jackie Gleason). Sydney Morehouse (Ned Beatty) reluctantly hires him after getting threatened with a lawsuit. U.S. fires him but U.S.'s spoiled 9 year old son "Master" Eric Bates (Scott Schwartz) finds the black janitor fascinating. Eric demands to buy him since U.S. promised Eric anything in his department store. U.S. is an absentee divorced father with Eric only one week every year. U.S. is married to bubbly new wife Fancy (Teresa Ganzel).I love Richard Pryor. Yes I'm the one guy who likes Superman III. He has an instant likability and that makes all the difference. Quite frankly, I missed all the racial undertones as a kid watching this movie. I just found it fun with a touching story of a family coming back together. I don't even mind the annoying brat because it allows him to grow as a human being. It's all very heart warming. I also loved all the toys as a kid and there is nothing better than Pryor.
TOMASBBloodhound
Yes, this is a wrong-headed and awkward little farce, but the stars are fun to watch. The Toy is the story of Richard Pryor desperately needing a job and being hired first as a cleaning LADY, and then as a playmate for the spoiled son of a tycoon. Director Richard Donner is able to showcase the tough economic times of the early 1980s and even sprinkle a little social awareness in terms of race. However the basic plot of a black man being bought or rented by a rich white man is an easy target for the race-bating crowd. Despite some scenes that might make the viewer feel uneasy, there are still a few good laughs here. Pryor is always watchable, and Gleason was unable to work much after this film. He makes his character believable, though.The film suffers from a few problems, to say the least. Scott Schwarz is certainly whiny and annoying as the boy. Yes, he is supposed to be but his performance on many levels is grating. I like one line Pryor has about him when Gleason tells him he only gets the boy for one week each year. Pryor suggests that Gleason get some better lawyers, because nobody should have to put up with that kid for as long as a week! Ha! There are a couple of uncomfortable scenes regarding the boy's German nanny coming onto to Pryor. In one scene she asks if he is brown all over while feeling him up while he's wearing spider man pajamas! Ughh! There is also an embarrassing scene where the boy asks Pryor some pointed questions about sex, while straddling a huge old cannon at a park area. Ewww. Ned Beatty is forced to drop his pants in one scene, but its nothing as graphic as the scene in Deliverance.I loved the scene where a huge outdoor Klan fund raiser is disrupted by Pryor and the kid. Actually Pryor is funny in just about every scene. The big-chested trophy wife of Gleason has some funny moments, too. I guess if you just don't take it seriously, than that is the only way to watch it. Still not a classic, if nothing else, The Toy is a curiosity best enjoyed by die hard fans of Pryor and Gleason. 5 of 10 stars.The Hound.
Carpetman
When I was a kid I actually loved this movie, but now that I'm a man, I'm kinda horrified by "The Toy." A rich white man buys a black man for his spoiled son? Or at least rents a black man for his son. And they take baths together? Yikes! I love Pryor, but I have to assume he took this gig for the money to feed his notorious crack habit. Moral of this movie? If you're a rich white man you can buy a black man for your son. Can you imagine the firestorm of protest if this movie came out today? And oh yeah, the kid became a real life porn star!!!
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