Movie A Day 3: Stir Crazy

Greetings all, welcome to another chapter in my Movie a Day column. Today we take follow Sidney Poitier from his role as John, the black doctor in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) to Stir Crazy (1980) where he steps into the directors chair. A bit of a confession, I've seen this movie before. I haven't seen it all the way through and thought it would be a good idea to watch it in it's entirety. And since this is my blog, I think I'll allow it. Now with the review

"Yes I'm a short son of a bitch, my daddy was a short son of a bitch, my mother was shorter than him, and my brother, my brother was so short we couldn't even see him."

Overview: Skip and Harry are framed for a bank robbery and end up in a western prison. The two eastern boys are having difficulty adjusting to the new life until the warden finds that Skip has a natural talent for riding broncos with the inter-prison rodeo coming up.

Plot and Pacing: This is not a film that heavily relied on smart writing. You might even say the plot is quite generic and elementary and you would have a valid argument. No, this is an actors movie. Meaning that it's basically just Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor letting loose for 111 minutes. Director Sidney Poitier does a fine job of not reigning in his actors too much and keeping the pedal on the medal pace wise. I was surprised the run time was as long as it was, because this film flew by. There seems to be a rather large plot hole at the end, but that doesn't take away the enjoyment of the movie.

The Players: Many people only know Gene Wilder from his work in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, (in which he is amazing in) but you would be missing out on one of the most charismatic actors of our time. He brings so much warmth and heartfelt emotion to every role, you absolutely cannot go wrong with a movie of his. Stir Crazy is no exception, he brings such enthusiasm and hope to this film, and he shows excellent chemistry with Richard Pryor as usual. Wilder and Pryor were one of the premier buddy duos of the late 1970s-early 80s. This is the second of four features they were in together, Silver Streak being the first (just an excellent movie). Pryor brings his all time best stand-up comedy to the screen as he portrays a streetwise perpetual victim that doesn't adjust to being in prison as well Wilder does. I can't stress how good of a duo these two are. JoBeth Williams, Barry Corbin, and a very early role by Craig T. Nelson stand out in supporting roles. 

The Verdict: Stir Crazy was a very popular film back in late 1980, grossing over a 100,000,000 and was the 3rd highest grossing film of the year. Many herald this as a comedy classic. While I wouldn't go that far, (I much prefer Silver Streak) Stir crazy is a fun buddy comedy that can effectively showcase the talents of both Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. This film can be found on Netflix Streaming, give it a shot.

7/10

Tune in tomorrow as we follow Gene Wilder in Mel Brook's The Producers (1968)