Stir Crazy
Directed by Sidney Poitier. US. 1980. R. 108 min.
- Sun, Jun 29, 2:00 pm
As a change of pace from the tense prison escape films shown earlier this month, here is a raucous comedy of two good-hearted bozos (Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder at their best) who get framed for a robbery they didn’t commit and end up in a particularly tough Southern prison. Their reactions and the mayhem that prevails provide a high level of visual humor. (Watch, for the scene in which Pryor teaches Gene to be tough and black. It’s a classic.) Directed by Sidney Poitier, who makes fun of many of the standard prison flick clichés, this was a sleeper when it was first released, receiving such positive word-of-mouth that it became one of the highest grossing films of the year. (Note: This being a Richard Pryor film, be prepared for his customary colorful language; but watch also for Wilder’s calm, often beatific, take on the events taking place around him. The interplay of their characters, and the genuine friendship that comes across between them, provides a pleasant and often gentle context within the threat and mayhem to which they are exposed.)