Um sem Juízo, Outro sem Razão

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.

'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

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

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.

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.