Stir Crazy (1980)

What happens when you take two comedy legends and place them in prison?? :o  Well in this particular case, in their second of four collaborations, you have Gene Wilder (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles) paired up with Richard Pryor (Bustin Loose, Brewster's Millions, Blue Collar) paired up as two out-of-work-actors who end up in the wrong place and the wrong time and are convicted of a bank heist which they did not commit.  As a result, they are both sent to a southwestern prison where they team up with other prisoners to eventually escape via the opportunity of a prison rodeo....and HILARITY ensues!  Directed by the late great Oscar-winner Sidney Poitier (yes THAT Sidney Poitier...he was also a director), let's see how this smash hit comedy blockbuster from a different time (forty-five years ago to be exact) holds up.....

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

Transcript

STIR CRAZY - 1980

Directed by Sidney Poitier

Starring Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Georg Stanford Brown, JoBeth Williams, Miguel Angel Suarez, Craig T. Nelson, Charles Weldon, Nicolas Coster, Joel Brooks, Jonathan Banks, Erland van Lidth, and Barry Corbin

Genre: Prison Comedy (Audio clip)

I cannot remember the last time I watched this entire movie but I remember it being a pretty rollicking time when I was younger and....it still is. :) The set-up is a bit drawn out but once Pryor and Wilder are behind bars making funny noises as they pretend to know martial arts, the laughs just keep coming! 

I gotta think that more than half of their dialogue HAD to be improvised and it shows...there's a generally aimless quality to much of the film but at the very least, it never drags. There's a plot about mistaken identity for bank robbers and their lawyers (including JoBeth Williams) ongoing efforts to find the real perpetrators....but that's not really developed other than to give Wilder's character the opportunity to flirt with her. Speaking of which, both Wilder and Pryor are JUST going for it with their performances though Pryor has some nice droll moments. But Wilder is just doing something here...I can't tell if it's meant to be endearing or just crazy but his eyes are almost always WIDE OPEN 😳 when he's interacting with other characters and he's always smiling too! It's a choice and seeing enough Wilder already, I kinda dug it but I can see how others might find it irritating. His Skip Donahue is just one happy, friendly dude! :) And we'll leave it at that...

The second half of the movie basically just becomes about the prison rodeo that Wilder's character finds himself competing in....this becomes their opportunity to escape and that escape pretty much takes over the third act. Sidney Poitier directed this and while I don't think the directing ever approaches the level of his acting, the prison escape sequence is intricately done and at the very least, feels more believable than most others we have seen in movies. It's generally fun to watch our heroes gather a crew together to plot their way out, the standout being Erland Van Lidth as the intimidatingly large Grossberger who is initially meant to scare them in their cell but who they end up befriending. He has a weirdly touching moment as he sings for them, I'm assuming that's his real voice. 

The whole thing's just rather goofy but never wears out its welcome - even though it's R-rated, the prison stuff never gets particularly grisly and it helps to have Barry Corbin broadly playing the bug-eyed warden so you never take it too seriously. If this is something you grew up watching like me, it's probably a fun watch....if not, then it just might be more of a curiosity to see Pryor and Wilder together.

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

If you want your audience to leave the theater on a high note, what better way to do so with a fun, boisterous feel-good pop song bringing them into the closing credits?  Harry and Skip just found out that the REAL criminals were caught and they actually ARE free….they’re about to drive off but NOT without Skip plants a BIG thank you kiss on JoBeth Williams’ Meredith who reciprocates….they gaze and then he and Harry drive off……only to return back! (Audio clip) 

So of course she joins them and ALL three drive off triumphantly to the dulcet tones of a British pop legend from this era – she had already made history by this time by being THE first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown Records.  Several hits throughout the ‘70’s INCLUDING her iconic duet with Elton John for “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” – I’m referring to West Riding of Yorkshire’s OWN favorite pop diva Pauline Matthews….professionally known as Kiki Dee.  She performed this feel-good anthem FOR the film’s soundtrack – surprisingly it wasn’t really a chart hit at the time but I DEFY you to NOT smile when listening – the song is “Nothing Can Stop Us Now.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

The screenplay for this film came to us from the late, great Oscar-nominated writer Bruce Jay Friedman who had a pretty solid comedy career on-screen including Splash, the original The Heartbreak Kid from ’72, The Lonely Guy, and Doctor Detroit….which in retrospect were pretty STRONG comedic showcases for some genuine legends…John Candy, Charles Grodin, Steve Martin, and Dan Ackroyd respectively.  And apparently LIKE this film, most of the comedic highlights of those films resulted from improvised moments from those actors….to be fair, this was VERY much the trend at the time with big-screen comedy from Caddyshack in the early ’80’s all the way to several Jim Carrey comedies in the ‘90’s.  But it begs the question: DID this film really have a screenplay??  I mean the film is structured pretty sloppily overall and the main driver of tension for much of the film – WHO actually committed the crime these guys were wrongly convicted for – pretty much becomes an afterthought by the end.  Hey at the very least, Friedman earned his keep so good for him. (Audio clip) 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

It occurs about 40 minutes in and in my opinion MIGHT be the most out-loud funniest sequence in the film, just brilliant physical comedy from both Pryor and Wilder….along with some nonsensical but nonetheless hysterical crying from Pryor….and it all results from their new cellmate…..one word…..GROSSBURGER! (Audio clip) 

Harry’s cowering standing against the bed, Skip is sidling towards the bars to get away….and Grossburger is JUST standing there SILENT.  Apparently most of this was improvised by both actors to the point where you they also each found it hard to play is straight, you can KINDA see Wilder breaking as he faces those bars.  And even better….the punchline to this scene, the next morning as the guards come back to check on them and…..they’re just sitting on the floor playing cards, even reprimanding Grossberger for how he’s playing.  Just TWO MINUTES of comedy GOLD! (Audio clip)  

MVP (person most responsible for the success of this film):

Ok sorry but I am going to have to BREAK my rule for this category of not spreading the wealth, it’s just too difficult – you have two LEGENDS sharing the screen here in what I believe is their best collaboration….out of four and it’s not even close.  And to be fair, part of my reasoning is that this is also THE first time (though hopefully not the LAST) we have reviewed a film starring either of them on the big screen – the bottom line is also that seeing them together just going nuts in tandem (or some would even say….STIR CRAZY?)…..is what drives this movie.  My CO-MVP’s are the late, great Gene Wilder and the late, great Richard Pryor. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 3.6 stars out of 5 

Believe it or not, this film DOES have some historical significance: Richard Pryor became the FIRST African American actor to receive a $1 million dollar paycheck to star in a film and this was also the FIRST (unadjusted for inflation) $100 million blockbuster to be directed by an African American.  So barriers WERE broken with the release of this film….but make no mistake, it’s just a silly good time!  Happy 45th Anniversary to one of the most inexplicably funny comedies of the 1980’s!

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And that ends another WRONGFULLY ACCUSED review!