IMDb RATING
6.0/10
3.9K
YOUR RATING
Failed parolee Joe Braxton has one last shot at redemption: by driving school kids from Philadelphia to Washington State.Failed parolee Joe Braxton has one last shot at redemption: by driving school kids from Philadelphia to Washington State.Failed parolee Joe Braxton has one last shot at redemption: by driving school kids from Philadelphia to Washington State.
- Awards
- 2 wins total
Angel Ramirez Jr.
- Julio
- (as Ángel Ramírez)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured review
Bustin' Loose (1981) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a man whose parole officer makes him help the parole officer's girlfriend move across country with 8 troubled children she supports. The man is told he just needs to drive the bus with the kids and girlfriend but once the trip starts he quickly discovers he has bit off more than he can chew. This movie is directed by Oz Scott (The Jeffersons) in his directorial debut and stars Richard Pryor (Harlem Nights), Cicely Tyson (The Help), George Coe (The Stepford Wives) and Peggy McCay (General Hospital). This movie has so many great memorable sequences and seeing Richard Pryor in his element creates so must nostalgia. The courtroom scene and blind kids on the bus sequences are legendary and absolutely hilarious. Pryor does a great job of feeling authentic and genuine in both his help and frustrations as the storyline evolves. The circumstances are a bit uneven with some being funny and fun and some being a bit cheesy. This isn't a crazy funny movie, or one of Pryor's best, but it is fun and heart warming. I would strongly recommend seeing this and score it a 6.5/10.
- kevin_robbins
- Sep 19, 2021
- Permalink
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to DVD Talk, "The film sat around gathering dust, until Faut s'faire la malle... (1980) came out, made a ton of cash, and prompted the producers to re-shoot sequences and release the film. The end result is a film that was produced before and after Pryor's suicide by fire attempt (you can see a physical difference during certain parts of the movie)."
- GoofsWhen Joe Braxton is hanging on the side of the bus as it begins to go down the hill, you can clearly see the cable of his safety harness attached to the rail of the bus.
- Quotes
Joe Braxton: [after forcing himself to give up his candy bar to the warehouse guard dog] Shit! There goes my goddamn dinner.
- Alternate versionsA few deleted scenes appeared on some TV versions, including a sequence where Joe and Marvin try to escape the warehouse, at the beginning.
- SoundtracksJust When I Needed You
Written by Roberta Flack & Eric Mercury
Performed by Roberta Flack with Luther Vandross
- How long is Bustin' Loose?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $11,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $31,261,269
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,622,753
- May 25, 1981
- Gross worldwide
- $31,261,269
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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