Wonderful Movie

Thanks for the memories!

Absolutely brilliant

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Though Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor were first teamed together in 1976's Silver Streak, it was not necessarily a pairing as Pryor didn't appear until 45 minutes into the movie, but this film showcases the actors' true comedic talents. Wilder and Pryor are Skip Donahue and Harry Monroe, are two out-of-work losers in NYC who decide to start a new life out in California. Along the way, their van breaks down in Phoenix, Arizona and decide to become mascots for a local bank to drum up extra cash before continuing their trip, but two bank robbers steal their costumes and rob the bank, leaving Slip and Harry to take the blame. The two are sentenced to 125 years in prison as their useless lawyer tries to research the case more carefully. Harry and Skip find that the prison surroundings are very difficult and as they are constantly abused (verbally and physically) by the scowling guards and the inmates. The warden, however, gains sympathy for the two, providing Skip will ride in the annual prison rodeo.The film itself, includes a lot of memorable moments, particularly the character of hulking inmate Grossberger, Pryor's mysterious appendix operation in the prison hospital, and the rodeo sequences itself.The film also includes early appearances by Barry Corbin as the warden, Craig T. Nelson as the gruff head prison guard, Joel Brooks as the boys' attorney Len Garber. JoBeth Williams as Len's comely social-worker cousin, and Jonathan Banks as a vicious fellow inmate that is given special treatment.Definitely one of the great Wilder/Pryor comedies.

Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor were a great comedy duo. Not all their few collaborations were great, but 'Silver Streak' and 'Stir Crazy' very much were very good, particularly the former. One thing that 'Stir Crazy' improves on than 'Silver Streak' is that Wilder and Pryor get equal screen time and work stronger as a double act.'Stir Crazy's' second half isn't as good as the first half, a case of the first half being great but the second half having moments but not living up to the promise seen before. The elaborate escape scene stands out well, but generally the second half does suffer from a lack of laughs, which the first half had aplenty, the momentum isn't as snappy and the more serious tone jars a little.That's pretty much it for the flaws though. 'Stir Crazy' is one of their more visually beautiful films, the setting is great and like a character of its own and there is some truly beautiful and clever photography at the start and in the first half.Much of the script is hilarious and clever, and avoids being noisy or immature. Pryor's chicken scene is unforgettable, and there is some clever lampooning of prison clichés. The story is slightly contrived at times in the second half but very rarely gets tedious. Sidney Poitier is a surprising choice for director but does a very capable job.Wilder is both funny and endearing and avoids mugging too much or clowning around. Pryor with more screen time than 'Silver Streak' equal to that of Wilder, works incredibly well with Wilder and while he is the less understated of the two he's not abrasive or annoying.Overall, uneven but very enjoyable. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Stir Crazy isn't anything too difficult to explain. It's simply pure comedy from the talented duo of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, directed by the fantastic Sidney Poitier.Gene and Richard play two friends from New York who are moving to California. They stop over in a town in Arizona, get a job as dancing woodpeckers who do jingles for a bank and then are arrested when two other men steal their costumes and rob said bank.They then are sent to jail for 125 years by the no-nonsense judge and the film documents their attempt to get used to prison life, pray that their lawyers can prove their innocence and hope Skip (Gene's character) can dominate the prison rodeo.As I said, there's nothing deep or thought provoking in this film. It's just the zany antics of the two comedic legends. Some strong acting by the cast and excitement are in the offing and the film delivers that in spades.What was neat to see were all the T.V. stars of past and future in the supporting cast, like Luis Avalos of The Electric Company and Craig T. Nelson of Coach. It was fun to recognize all these old faces.The only flaw was that the film's writing seemed geared for an easy job of editing for T.V. I wonder if just making it PG would have been better for their box office numbers. Nonetheless, Stir Crazy was the 3rd highest grossing film of 1980.If you're looking for a real comedy film, a blast from the past, Stir Crazy delivers.

Stir Crazy starts in New York City as best friends Skip Donahue (Gene Wilder) & Harry Monroe (Richard Pryor) are both fired from their jobs on the same afternoon, drowning their sorrows in a local bar Skip tells Harry that he is fed up with New York & convinces his friend that they should set off on a road trip across the US to Hollywood to find their fame & fortune. Harry agrees but their old van breaks down in a small town called Glenboro, needing money to pay for the repairs Skip & Harry are hired by a bank to sing a song dressed as Woodpeckers. Two local crooks steal the Woodpecker costumes & rob the bank for which Skip & Harry are blamed, they go before a judge, found guilty & sentenced to one hundred & twenty five years each behind bars in state prison. Both Skip & Harry are unprepared for the harsh reality of prison & decide to use the upcoming rodeo to escape...Directed by Sidney Poitier this is the sort of film that you will get & roll around on the floor laughing or find crude & unfunny, comedy like so much else is subjective & what makes one person laugh will not necessarily make the guy sitting next to him laugh so when I say that I thought Stir Crazy was often quite hilarious it's only my own personal opinion as I know quite rightly the person I was standing next to in the que at the bus stop may not. Simple. I won't say that you will find Stir Crazy as funny as I did but I think you would need to be pretty devoid of emotion not to find at least some of it amusing & as I said I think it's often outright hilarious. The film starts off almost entirely as a showcase for the comedic pairing of Wilder & Pryor with some terrific scenes including the Woodpecker dance, the 'I'm bad' scene in jail, some priceless one-liners & reactions to the general likability of the two leads as they turn the material into gold. However once the rodeo aspect & jail break angle kicks in during the second half of the film the comedy seems to take a back seat as gambling, cheating & an odd jail break (why did Harry have to go back into the rodeo? Why couldn't Rory & Jesus climb up the shaft & into the popcorn thing like Harry & Skip do?) take center stage. Also the ending is a little silly & unsatisfying in it's attempt to finish as quickly as possible, sure Harry & Skip have been acquitted but that still leaves the fact they broke out of jail & helped two other convicted criminals including a murderer to escape too. While I am poking holes in the plot would a lawyer's niece really get a job in a topless bar just on the off chance she might see a guy with a particular tattoo? Now that's going above & beyond the call of duty, unless of course she needed the extra money as well.Shot in a real Arizona prison this has good production values & is well made for what it is although there's no real action apart from some rodeo footage of horses & bulls thrashing around. While there is plenty of bad language & profanity there's no violence to speak of. Apparently Richard Pryor refused to wear the Woodpecker suit while filming but strangely did wear for the poster & promotional materials.Apparently a big success at the time even though the critics generally hated it, some of the country & western style music & songs are a little nerve grating & distracting but nothing too major. The acting is good, Wilder & Pryor in particular are brilliant here as a pairing & it's said a lot of scenes were improvised between the two. Even though their character's never meet in Stir Crazy both JoBeth Williams & Craig T. Nelson went on to star in the excellent Poltergeist (1982) a couple of years later.Stir Crazy is a film that I found extremely funny, Wilder & Pryor are on top form & while the logistic's of the story seem to have been shoved to one side Stir Crazy is just a film to be enjoyed & not taken too seriously.