Another You

Another You (1991)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Eddie Dash (Richard Pryor) is a con man who is forced to do community service so he agrees to take George (Gene Wilder) out of his sanitarium and go to a museum. Eddie is meant to show George a good time but before long George is mistaken for Abe Fielding, a very rich and very popular man. Eddie sees this as a way to get some quick cash so he plays along.

ANOTHER YOU has a really awful reputation for a number of reasons including the fact that it had a lot of pre-production issues, script re-writes and various other problems that ran into the production. It turned out to be a box office disaster and in fact it would be the final theatrical film for Wilder. With all of that being said, I think time has been quite friendly to the fourth and final teaming of Pryor and Wilder.

That's not to say that ANOTHER YOU is some sort of masterpiece because it isn't. You can call it the worst film that the duo made but that's just because they made three very good movies together and this one here it at least very funny in spots. There are many hilarious moments scattered throughout the film but the highlight from me happens early on when Wilder's character finally breaks and begins to lie. This long sequence inside a restaurant has Wilder at his very best as he goes from one personality to the next and it's very funny.

As you'd expect, Wilder and Pryor have some wonderful chemistry together and they just bounce off one another so perfectly that it's bound to get some laughs. You can tell Pryor was in the early stages of his Multiple Sclerosis but he still offers up a good performance. The film clearly belongs to Wilder who gets the better of the two roles and does a fine job with it. Mercedes Ruehl is also a lot of fun in her role and we get a nice supporting cast including Stephen Lang, Vanessa Williams, Peter Michael Geotz, Kevin Pollack and an uncredited Michael J. Pollard who also appeared in BONNIE AND CLYDE with Wilder.

The problem with ANOTHER YOU is that the last forty-minutes are pretty much dead. There's a twist in the story and the entire film changes, which is really too bad because this twist does nothing but add extra characters that weren't needed. What was working so well between Wilder and Pryor is pretty much thrown out the window and sadly the film does end on a sour note. Still, there are enough laughs here to make ANOTHER YOU worth watching.

This being the last of the Pryor/Wilder Partnership, was a commercial and critical failure, However that said, it was always going be tough as Pryor's multiple sclerosis illness had become more serious and is very evident in the film. His usual fast and erratic luney behaviour is reduced to a very frail skinny man who is obviously in pain and trying very hard just to walk.This would of also have reduced the creative input that Pryor contributed to his films. All this aside, Wilder is actually very funny in the movie, his timing is excellent(especially the restaurant scene) and he carries the film well. Pryor is still funny at times but understandably has more of a supporting role.

A fan of the Pryor Wilder films should still definitely see this, there are many laughs,with some funny impersonation scenes with Kevin Pollack, but its one for people with a love for their comedy partnership. As a film on its own to an outsider it will more than likely disappoint.

It is available on DVD

After 3 successful collaborations together, Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor came together for the final time in Maurice Phillips's 1991 film Another You. The two definitely did not save the best for last in this story of mistaken identity. Maybe it was a case of wearing out a good thing, or poor directing, or something else entirely; whatever it was, Another You didn't work.

After being in a mental hospital for 3 years, for his pathological lying, it is believed that George (Gene Wilder) is ready to be re- introduced to the world again. Eddie Dash (Richard Pryor) is a con- man trying to stay on the rehabilitated side of life when he is assigned to community service for the remainder of his probation. He is assigned to spend time with George, helping him find an apartment and aid him on his re-introduction to life outside of the mental hospital. On the way to the museum, George bumps into a man who mistakenly believes he is a millionaire to whom he owes a lot of money. George is wholeheartedly against going on with this lie as he is trying to rehabilitate himself from lying. Eddie, however, has no interest in becoming a better person and leaving the con game behind. Seeing this as a great opportunity for getting a lot of money, Eddie urges George to go along with the charade. George then meets the real Abe Fielding's wife and sees the beautiful mansion that he is supposed to live in. Going along with the charade proves difficult when it is revealed that the real Abe Fielding is missing and believed to be murdered.

Everything about this film was disjointed. It's hard to believe, by watching this film alone, that there were 3 other film collaborations of the two principles. Another You is completely missable, likewise, miserable. A flat storyline that never fully develops or works enough to engage the audience, even my intense love of Gene Wilder's work wasn't enough to save this picture for me.

'Another You' at the time, and still is now, the most poorly received Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor film in terms of box office and critical reaction, being both a box office failure and considered by a good many as their worst.

From personal opinion, 'Another You' is agreed their weakest, but it is nowhere near as bad as its reputation while also having potential to be much better. Of their four double act collaborations, my personal favourite is 'Silver Streak' while also really enjoying 'Stir Crazy' mostly (where the partnership between the two is more equal and even more inspired) if not as even (with a second half that doesn't fare as well as the first half). 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil', a critical failure but unlike 'Another You' a box office success, was uneven and not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but was also not as bad as reputed.

There are good things about 'Another You'. It looks pretty good, really liked the rustic costume and set design and the photography doesn't look too cheap. Charles Gross' music is a good, sometimes quirky, never over-bearing and rarely mismatched, fit.

Wilder and Pryor work very well together and show what a great double act and comedy duo they were. Wilder does give the better performance here, being full of energy and sometimes very funny. Pryor is hampered by the multiple sclerosis that he was suffering from at the time, which makes him look ill and stiff, and he is a little underused and for Pryor fairly subdued, this said he still provides enough entertaining moments and is very much watchable.

Some of the dialogue and jokes are fun and witty too. That quality doesn't come through consistently enough, but 'Another You' is one of those films that has its good moments and elements and hardly irredeemably bad. The supporting cast do well with what they're given, what 'Another You' has over 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil' is that the supporting cast are better here.

However, the story mostly is non-descript, and what there is of it is jumbled and disjointed. It also has erratic pacing, sometimes rushed, at other times with a few dull stretches, and it could have done with being 10-15 minutes longer to tie things up more tightly. Despite a decent premise, the laughs don't come consistently. Parts of the dialogue are lacklustre, there are some tasteless and less than subtle jokes about the mentally ill (which is one of the reasons why 'Another You' is Wilder and Pryor's weakest, because despite a lack of subtlety in places 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil' handled its premise nowhere near as distastefully as it potentially could have done) and the yodelling scene agreed is an embarrassment and should have been left on the editing room floor.

Overall, Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor's weakest film but not as bad as reputed. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Seeing that this movie only received an average vote of 4.3, I felt that I had to set the record straight; it deserves at least a 6. True, the plot isn't the best, but the lines are superb. Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder (a great double team) really work wonders together. So please, do yourself a favour and go rent this movie, it's worth it.