Locos de remate

Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor was a good comedy team of the 1970s, making several hit movies together, this being one of the more memorable. Viewing this movie recently after a 25-year absence, it was a shock to me to hear the language. I had remembered this strictly as a light-hearted comedy but I can see why it's rated "R." That is solely for the language, especially by Pryor, but he was known for his profane humor.

If you can put up with that, the film is downright funny, even today. I found myself laughing out loud at a few scenes, all of which I remembered vividly from several viewings in the '70s. They are still just as funny.

Who could forget that mammoth criminal with the long, long name - Erland van Lidth de Jeude? He was the guy that scared the hell out of everyone, just by his physical presence. In real life, that man was the opposite of his projected image on screen. He was a graduate of MIT, an accomplished opera singer, an Olympic wrestler, devoted husband and father, writer, etc. The poor man died at the age of 34.

It also was interesting to see such a young looking Craig T Nelson and JoBeth Williams.

This might have been the best of the Wilder-Pryor films. I was shocked to see that Sidney Poitier directed this movie. I didn't know that until seconds ago when I looked at this IMDb title page.

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.

Recently i bought a DVD-recorder. As a stunt the shop sold it at a special price, together with a selection of Movies on DVD. One of these DVD's is "Stir Crazy". I watched the film again, this time together with my 13-years old son and a friend of his. The boys were rolling on the floor with laughter, so one can definitely say that this is a timeless comedy, that never ages. The film always leaves me with a good feeling and i have seen that it still works, even with kids these days. The acting is superb, the dialog continually funny, the prison setting convincing and an extra credit should go out to Jobeth Williams' small but heat-warming part. Guaranteed to bring a little sunshine to a rainy day.

"Stir Crazy" once again brings together the comedic talents of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. Here, they play Skip and Harry, two hapless slackers in New York who decide to go west to find their fortunes. On the way, they stop in Arizona, and get framed for a bank robbery. This lands them behind bars. This movie is loaded with screwball comedy, and it shows Gene Wilder at his most manic. His methods at pretending to be insane and keeping his spirit from being broken will elicit the big laughs. It all climaxes with a prison rodeo, and an elaborate breakout scheme. "Stir Crazy" is a comedy classic, and reminds us all of the comedy team of Pryor and Wilder.

"Thats right,thats right we baaaad.....". That line was probably the most famous that Richard Pryor ever uttered on screen. He and Gene Wilder made a great "buddy" team just like Newman and Redford...only they are a helluva lot funnier! This was one film that critics hated but audiences loved. Wilder's "nice guy" is a perfect match for Pryor's wisecracking. This film has a fine supporting cast as well, George Stanford Brown (although his portrayal of a gay inmate may not seem "politically correct" today, he is hilariously "swishy" though!) Jobeth Williams, Barry Corbin (as the corrupt warden)and Craig T. Nelson (before he became a "Coach"). Sidney Poitier does a wonderful job of directing these two comedy legends I might add. The prison escape in the end kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked Skip and Harry so much that I was just rooting for them all the way! Pryor was burned shortly after this film was completed.