Le menteur & le tricheur

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

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.

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.

After 3 successful collaborations together, Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor came together for the final time in Maurice Phillips's 1991 film Another You. The two definitely did not save the best for last in this story of mistaken identity. Maybe it was a case of wearing out a good thing, or poor directing, or something else entirely; whatever it was, Another You didn't work.

After being in a mental hospital for 3 years, for his pathological lying, it is believed that George (Gene Wilder) is ready to be re- introduced to the world again. Eddie Dash (Richard Pryor) is a con- man trying to stay on the rehabilitated side of life when he is assigned to community service for the remainder of his probation. He is assigned to spend time with George, helping him find an apartment and aid him on his re-introduction to life outside of the mental hospital. On the way to the museum, George bumps into a man who mistakenly believes he is a millionaire to whom he owes a lot of money. George is wholeheartedly against going on with this lie as he is trying to rehabilitate himself from lying. Eddie, however, has no interest in becoming a better person and leaving the con game behind. Seeing this as a great opportunity for getting a lot of money, Eddie urges George to go along with the charade. George then meets the real Abe Fielding's wife and sees the beautiful mansion that he is supposed to live in. Going along with the charade proves difficult when it is revealed that the real Abe Fielding is missing and believed to be murdered.

Everything about this film was disjointed. It's hard to believe, by watching this film alone, that there were 3 other film collaborations of the two principles. Another You is completely missable, likewise, miserable. A flat storyline that never fully develops or works enough to engage the audience, even my intense love of Gene Wilder's work wasn't enough to save this picture for me.

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.