Folie à l'urgence

Con man Kevin Lennihan (Richard Pryor), framed in a jewel smuggling, tries for an insanity plea and is sent to a hospital for review where he is confused with a doctor and takes over the hospital when a major storm hits.

I had never heard of this film until now (2016), which is a bit of a shame. Pryor is great, and it's awesome to see Bob Saget in a supporting role (though he isn't really given any funny lines). Joe Mantegna is here, too. This seems like it should be some sort of cult classic, but in stead it is forgotten.

And there may be a reason for that. Despite the funny premise, and some great moments, it never feels as funny as it should be. I don't know why. Is the script not polished enough? Is the director to blame? Or is it just very understated?

Basically a vehicle for Pryor, this is a rough and somewhat ugly movie, disfigured in part by a surfeit of swearing in a film that doesn't need it and a bunch of vaguely unsympathetic characters. The central plot – a framed man who has claimed insanity has to pretend to be a doctor during a blackout at a hospital – is intriguing if somewhat convoluted. As a twist on the fish-out-of-water story, it has much potential, in the same way that Woody Allen's "Hollywood Ending" has much potential in its premise of a suddenly-blind director having to go through the entire shoot without letting anyone know he is blind. Just as with that movie, "Critical Condition" mainly fails to capitalize on its potential, and the film is oddly slow-moving and genuine laughs are hard to come by.

Pryor does well to work with the underdeveloped material, and Rachel Ticotin adds solid support in the role of the hospital administrator. There is a nice addition of a subplot involving crooks roaming the hospital to add to the tension of the staff and patients trying to survive the power outage, and the film as a whole is at least watchable, but not very memorable. It does not have widespread appeal as a comedy/thriller and should probably be best recommended for Pryor fans only.

For a Pryor film, this one is disappointing, or may'be I just found it weaker than normal, but anything with Richie in, is worth it. Here in a great titled flick, he's a framed escapee, made a psychotic patient, that has him now masquerading as a hectic doctor. But the jobs does have it's perks, with Pryor examining a young hottie's goodies, one standout scene in the whole mad affair. This film is very entertaining, though, as in seeing how Richie will get out of this. The film has a very interesting cast, including a bit part with Wesley Snipes as an ambo, and Joe Mantegna, has a heartless, hospital director, who's taken a hostage by our loonies. The cast on the patient's arm scene with Pryor laying the cast on pretty thick, with Pryor showing a young intern, was another funny moment. As was too, him trying to convince the hospital board of his psychotic state, when he describes in unsavoury and disturbing detail, pictures that our show to him. The film's not unfunny. It's just not as funny as most of Pryor's stuff, where as you know, with his films, the bar is set pretty high. It's still bloody enjoyable, the "what a shame factor" present. Again in the end, it all ends well, for our framed ex con/conman, Pryor. Still one for Pryor fans.

Tick off another Richard Pryor comedy vehicle, which actually wasn't too bad even though it had him playing the same sort of comic role and the humour could be put off by its heavy-handed running themes. Pryor stars as an ex-con who poses as a psycho to get out of a jail sentence, so the judge sends him to a hospital where he would find himself posing as an emergency room doctor one night in his attempt to escape during a cyclone because the doctors don't believe him to be insane. This hospital comedy is zany, crude and very often unhinged, as Pryor plays it neurotic with a certain deadpan quality and across him was the lovely Rachel Ticotin. The support cast surrounding him are quite good in their deliveries. Ruben Blades, Sylvia Miles, Joe Mantegna, Bob Dishy, Garrett Morris, Randel "Tex" Cobb, Bob Saget and John Polito. The hodge podge story throws around many ideas and gags in a downright chaotic manner, from mistaken identity to offbeat medical techniques and displaying confidence in those around you to act upon your own judgement leading the way. "Critical Condition" is far from a lethal injection, as in the end it all comes together in an amusing haphazard way led by the likable comedian Pryor.

"He doesn't need a second opinion".

As much as I love Richard Pryor, this movie is well, awful. I haven't seen this movie in years and recently watched it on one of the paid movie services. I originally saw it when it was released in the theaters because I have always followed Richard Pryor's career. The concept of the movie just doesn't fly and having Randall "Tex" Cobb as a main character didn't help any. Honestly, I won't invest another hour and a half to ever watching this again. There are also some other "B" actors such as Joe Mantegna and Bob Saget but they are not very good either in this movie. Sorry Richard, you are a great performer but this movie stinks.