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.

The Wilder/Pryor comedy team made some really amazing, pretty much perfect comedies in their time... and even though this movie does not hold a candle to their best (See No Evil Hear No Evil, Silver Streak, Stir Crazy) it is still a really funny movie. Any scene with either of them is already funny, but putting them both together always results in some magic. It's not the best script they've ever had to work with but they still have a lot of funny scenes and like most of their movies it still has a surprising amount of heart underneath all the slapstick type comedy. I highly recommend all their movies and RIP to both of them!

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.

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

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.