Non dirmelo... non ci credo

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.

In this 1991 Tristar Pictures release, Richard Pryor once again portrays a con man and once again Gene Wilder is his costar. Their fourth collaboration may most likely be their last as Pryor's increasing signs of multiple sclerosis made filming extremely difficult for him to get through. It's a real shame in the world of contemporary film comedy as Pryor's possible cinematic swan song (if you don't count his cameos in two 1996 films, "Lost Highway" and "Trigger Happy") turns out to be one of his funniest films and best performances. Pryor portrays Eddie Dash, a con man who has just been released from prison but still has to serve time for community service. He is assigned to be a public escort for a pathological liar (Wilder) who has just been released from a mental hospital. What Pryor doesn't initially know about Wilder is that he is the pawn in a scam to claim a brewery inheritance. The two of them eventually wind up running for their lives when some greedy businessmen decide that they want to cash in on the fortune. Plenty of funny moments from the always dependable duo of Pryor and Wilder.

I'm totally suspicious to write about Pryor & Wilder, l love their pictures, probably the best comic duo ever, black and white, con and nice guy, the immoral and the moralistic, they are quite opposite each other, but they complete themselves, although they weren't close friends in real life, Pryor is my favorite black actor for all times, he makes jokes about own skin, fantastic, priceless, unfortuatelly in this especific picture Pryor sounds like looney bi essessive drugs abuse, undermining the offering, Pryor is no longer among us after snort tons of cocaine, nonetheless he still my definitive Hero, this picture just came out officially in Brasil on VHS format only, praying by DVD release!!!

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 1993 / How many: 4 / Source: TV-DVD-R / Rating: 6.25.

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.

Another turn out for the Pryor/Wilder duo which does have some funny scenes and amusing dialogue. However, Another You does drag its heels and seems to lose its way halfway through. Just a little too slapstick and not a patch on the fantastic 'Silver Streak' and very funny 'Stir Crazy. I'll give it a 5.