Libertà poco vigilata

I guess that "Bustin' Loose" is most famous because it was during the production of this movie that Richard Pryor had his near-death experience with freebasing. But there's more to the movie than that. Pryor plays an ex-con who gets a second chance by getting assigned to drive a bus load of special needs children from Philadelphia to Washington state.

Much of the humor derives from Richard Pryor's and Cicely Tyson's personalities bouncing off of each other: he's the irresponsible goof-off, she's the stern teacher. There's also a look at the children's stories: there's a blind boy, a pyromaniac, and a former child prostitute from Vietnam. And then of course, there's the scene with the Ku Klux Klan; I bet that Richard Pryor had wanted to do something like that for years!

So, it's a pretty silly movie, but still very enjoyable. It's too bad that Richard Pryor is no longer with us.

This is a really nice film. I bought it on DVD and saw it last night. I had seen it various times through the years. Last night was the first time I had seen it in along time. Without Richard Pryor it could have been an after school special. I have always liked Richard Pryor in his films, he always played a normal human being, he never got into the supercop comedies like Eddie Murphy did. Pryor showed in this film that he could be tender as well as funny. It is a little gem of movie, very lite, but very funny and heartwarming.

Grade: B

Richard Pryor plays Joe Braxton, a multiple time loser that failed yet again at trying to score. This time he tries to steal from an electronics store. The judge gives him 10 years probation in lieu of prison. His probation officer, Donald (Robert Christian), has a deal for Joe: take his girlfriend, Vivian (Cicely Tyson), and a busload of discarded youth to Washington state or face prison time. Reluctantly, Joe agrees.

I see that Pryor wrote and produced this feature. It is not his funniest work but it is probably his most positive work. Just like him, the kids were considered losers. Vivian saw more in the kids and she would begin to see more in Joe as well.

It's a feel good story even if the cacophony of the children got irksome. It's hard to hate this movie even if I didn't love it.

Over the years when nothing else is on I watch Bustin' Loose from time to time, it is such a good feel good movie. Neat story which has Richard Pryor as con man Joe Braxton who is maneuvered into taking a group of disturbed kids from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania along with their teacher Cicely Tyson to a farm in Washington state owned by the aunt and uncle of Cicely Tyson. This movie is a great journey of respect and friendship it shows just how that no matter how different people are they can become friends and learn to care and respect one another. This is not typical Richard Pryor you don't find much strong language but Pryor is plenty enough his comical and funny self to make this film a winner. So if you haven't seen this give it a watch it shows from time to time on cable. Probably one of the better movies of Richard Pryor.

This is one of those movies that, unless you have too many expectations, turn out to be quite entertaining. It stars Richard Pryor as an ex-con who agrees to transport a teacher (Cicely Tyson) and eight misfit children from Philadelphia to Washington, as part of his probation. Richard Pryor is known for his abilities in physical comedy. Surprisingly enough, the best part of the film are the more emotional scenes, where he gets to interact with the children. However, there are some other scenes, clearly going for the big laughs, that are not as successful, like the one with the KKK or the ones in the bank near the end of the film, and they threaten to spoil the fun. "Bustin' loose" is a good comedy, although it would have been even better if the script had relied more on Pryor's relationship with the children than on the physical comedy parts. It is definitely not a masterpiece, but if you need an evening of relaxation in front of the TV, then this film is for you.

Rating: 7/10, or B1