Der Spielgefährte

I've seen this movie more times than I'd ever admit to, and the thing that keeps me watching is Pryor. He shines in just about every scene he's seen, especially when he's paired with the Wonder-Wheel. It's just that the rest of the film isn't on the level.

That's not to say it's a bad film; it's just not a solid one. This remake of a Francis Veber film (the name escapes me) finds Pryor as Jack Brown, an unemployed writer who seeks a job with a newspaper. He arrives at Bates Industries, run by the powerful industrialist U.S. Bates (Jackie Gleason). He works a variety of odd jobs, incl. a janitor in a department store, where he is spotted by U.S. Bates' spoiled son, Eric, during the afforementioned Wonder-Wheel fiasco. Eric wants Jack as a toy, and this leads to a movie that blends the comedic with the sentimental, and works about half of the time.

The movie does take it's time to illustrate the goings-on in the Bates home. Eric spends much time tormenting Jack; during their first night, he shoots firecrackers at him, among other things. The two of them play air-hockey, and when Jack is beating Eric, the boy quits. Jack questions the boy if his father knows that his son is a quitter, to which Eric replies, "He doesn't care what I am, as long as I stay out of his way." That scene illustrates Eric's m.o.; he's frustrated at the neglect and inattentiveness he receives from his father, and expresses it in rebellious behavior.

That's all good and well, and that scenario does have a positive resolution, but the movie is burdened with unnecessary elements that don't belong in a movie like this. The movie has a racist subtext: Jack essentially allows himself to be bought, even though he says he can't. There's also a subplot towards the end dealing with the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan that serves no purpose other than to wreck a party. And U.S. Bates' wife, Fancy, is a poorly-drawn character; she comes along with an impressive bust and an annoying voice, and does little that is humorous, aside from her pronounciation of "U.S."

Still, the main reason to see the film is Pryor. See it for no other reason than to see a legend doing what he does best.

This is simply put, a fun, charming movie about a boy (Scott Schwartz) who decides to make Richard Pryor his toy for a week while he visits his powerful father Jackie Gleason. Simple gags, jokes and life lessons are what this movie is all about. It should be noted that Schwartz, who also played "Flick" in A Christmas Story went on to co-star in non-sexual roles in hardcore XXX films, then did a XXX scene himself, virtually destroying any chance for a comeback as an adult actor.

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!!!

I know there was a lot of controversy around this film, due to the fact we have a rich white man buying a black man for his son, but I think that people just took this film way too seriously. Richard Pryor is one of the best comedians of all time, so I definitely became interested in seeing this film after I saw it on VH1's "I love the 80's" show, once again though, it seemed like they were giving the film a hard time. Well, I saw this at a store and figured for 5 dollars, what the heck? It's the rental price, if I liked the movie, I might as well own it. Well, I watched it this morning, I have to say that I thought that this was a very cute film that I'm sure if you have an open mind, you'll definitely enjoy it.

Jack is a journalist looking for a job, he's not getting anything though, at first he starts as a cleaning lady, but is fired by a snobby rich man. Then he's security at a toy store where the snobby rich man's son is shopping for anything he wants, he sees Jack and thinks he is funny, he wants him as the toy. When offered enough money to save his house, Jack agrees to it, but he's getting just a bit humiliated when he is constantly mocked, understandably. But when he gives the little boy a chance, they end up becoming great friends.

The Toy is just a fun movie that I'm sure you'll get a kick out of if you just give it a shot. It's a definite 80's classic that had great comedy in it, Richard was absolutely hilarious. He and Scott Schwartz were very adorable together and looked like they had so much fun together. I would recommend this film for a fun comedy, you're guaranteed a few laughs.

7/10

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.