Der Spielgefährte

Underneath all the "controversy" about the rich whitey "buying" the po' black man as a toy for his son, there's actually a very touching story about a kid and his dad who don't know how to communicate their feelings.

All this "slave" stuff seems a bit silly - in the early '80s, Richard Pryor was probably the most popular (and funniest) comedian out there, so who better to play the role of Jack Brown? They needed someone with great comic timing, who is fantastic delivering funny lines and doing slapstick, and who can emote as good as anyone then when a dramatic scene called for it. Who would have been a better choice than Pryor? No one.

The bratty kid and his "toy" Pryor raise heck in every scenario, from a dinner party, to a democrat KKK fundraiser, to a printing press room, and just about everywhere in the dad's mansion. Along the way, Eric the kid learns more and more about how to be a decent person from Jack, who is trying to get a job from the kid's dad (the amazing Jackie Gleason) who owns the local newspaper, among everything else.

Ned Beatty shines as always as one of Gleason's flunkies, showing that he was one of those guys who could play just about every kind of role.

Pryor of course is absolutely hilarious as Jack, paid to befriend the kid, and take the brunt of the kid's jokes and pranks, always with hilarious results.

Sure this isn't the funniest film ever made, but this is a very likable film for anyone that puts the prejudices against it aside and just chills and enjoys it.

Richard Pryor stars as a down and out writer who ends up as a human toy for multi-billionaire Jackie Gleason's son. The combination results in comedy that only a man like Richard Pryor could take and make even funnier.

Shades of his stand up act stand out when the focus is on Pryor and some of the situations he gets himself into and he uses this time to shine. Jackie Gleason played well, too, as the straight man, but I don't think this was his forte, although, come to think of it, this role isn't that much different from the "straight guy" kind of role he played in the "Smokey and the Bandit" films, but he was a LOT funnier in those films than here.

The only problem I have with this film is that it starts to go for the throat of comedy, but ends up being a piece trying to deal with the issues at the time...almost like changing boats in the middle of the stream. The comedy continues throughout, but it changes its content, which distracted me a little.

7 out of 10 stars.

This film can be enjoyed by children due to it's obvious subject matter. But it also has a subtheme about racial and class divisions. Depending on the scene, the film's racial connotations range from depicting the use of blacks in subservient positions, to blatantly expressing that people can still sell themselves or be bought out of desperation.

When I was a kid I actually loved this movie, but now that I'm a man, I'm kinda horrified by "The Toy." A rich white man buys a black man for his spoiled son? Or at least rents a black man for his son. And they take baths together? Yikes! I love Pryor, but I have to assume he took this gig for the money to feed his notorious crack habit. Moral of this movie? If you're a rich white man you can buy a black man for your son. Can you imagine the firestorm of protest if this movie came out today? And oh yeah, the kid became a real life porn star!!!

It's nearly a shot-by-shot remake of the French masterpiece (Le Jouet - 1976). So much for saying I think!

The comparison isn't for the sake of the American movie, since that movie didn't change anything. They kind of translated the French movie to American the way they translated "Le Jouet" into "The Toy" ("The Toy" is what "Le Jouet" means in English!). The only added thing was a storyline about racism which suited (Richard Pryor)'s character, and harmonized with the motif; as if slavery still exists, making the poor as the rich people's toy.

But overall nothing could reach to the original's special pace, or exceptional personality. For example, in (Le Jouet), the rich man's villa was dark, and the silence worked powerfully more than the talking. Here, forget any of that. Instead, they leaned to weak and cheap tricks like repeating the domino's fall, showing off the stepmother's body, and aiming at the adult joking (there was a purposed kick out of hearing the boy says dirty words!).

(Pryor) filled it with his own buffoonery, and some funny lines, however couldn't capture the serious sense of the story, dealing with the movie as a toy itself. He was a golden star at the moment, so maybe they left him do whatever he wants. Or maybe that's the taste of his comedy anyway. (Patrick Williams)'s music was very cute, but not up to (Vladimir Cosma)'s tender memorable score of the original. And nothing can imitate (Le Jouet)'s end, which's one of the most touching and expressing cinematic endings I've ever seen.

Director (Richard Donner), with the 2 scriptwriter, lacked the French director (Francis Veber)'s smart touches while he was transforming his own short story into feature film. Yes, (Donner) made it fairly, but it's still one of his most spiritless movies that lacks the personal touch. He was executing more than creating at this break between the end of the 1970s' (Superman)'s movies, and his movies at the mid-1980s: (Ladyhawke), (The Goonies), and (Lethal Weapon).

Have watched the original or not, this one is good, fresh and solid as an afternoon movie. In fact, its good condition is a proof of the original's beauty. Though, it's obvious that (The Toy) couldn't be as unique as (Le Jouet). I believe this is the habit of Hollywood that loves to "toy" with older movies, or TV shows, making them mostly easier and slighter!