This is not The Unenthusiastic Critic's first rodeo, but it is her first viewing of a Gene Wilder-Richard Pryor movie, as Nakea is sentenced to watch Stir Crazy, from 1980.
First, we're talking about the tragicomic career of the late, great Richard Pryor. Then, we're sitting down for one of his most successful films, his second collaboration with Gene Wilder.
Directed by the great Sidney Poitier, Stir Crazy became the highest grossing film ever by a black director, and it held that record—adjusted for inflation—for almost 40 years.
But is it actually a good movie?
Program
0:00: Prologue: from Pryor's Comedy Album 'Craps' (After Hours)
0:49: Cultural Osmosis: Pre-Viewing Discussion of Richard Pryor and Stir Crazy
17:51: Interlude: Original Trailer
19:44: The Verdict: Post-Viewing Discussion
40:14 Outro and Next Week's Movie
Notes and Links
—Movie Reviewed: Stir Crazy (dir. Sidney Poitier, Columbia Pictures, 1980).
—Prologue: from 'Craps' (After Hours) (Richard Pryor, Laff Records, 1971).
—Links and Resources: "Richard Pryor: This Can’t Be Happening to Me," David Felton, Rolling Stone; "A Pryor Love," Hilton Als, The New Yorker; "Richard Pryor: Meltdown at the Hollywood Bowl," Scott Saul, The Guardian; Review of Stir Crazy by Roger Ebert, rogerebert.com.
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—"Warm Duck Shuffle" by Arne Huseby is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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