Comedy duo Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor teamed up with director Sidney Poitier in 1980 to bring us this highly improbable tale of two New Yorkers who flee the 'Big Apple' for the west in search of sun, surf and simplicity, but wind up being framed for armed robbery and sentenced to 125 years jail.
Bruce Jay Friedman's script is purely a vehicle for the combined talents of Pryor and Wilder, and to this end it serves its purpose well. Wilder gets the best of what comic lines and routines there are, and he's always an enjoyable screen presence. His character is saintly to the point of naivety, and he makes the most of its humorous possibilities. Pryor backs him up well, and has one particularly memorable moment with "Blade", as he learns what it means to be a rodeo clown. The rest of the support cast, including George Stanford Brown, Craig T. Nelson, Jobeth Williams and Barry Corbin, are merely background.
Director Poitier is well aware of the plot's limitations, and so leaves his two big "Saturday Night Live" stars to carry proceedings with their slapstick routines and verbal banter. The pair do well and produce an enjoyable, light comedy.
Tuesday, June 11, 1996 - Video
Bruce Jay Friedman's script is purely a vehicle for the combined talents of Pryor and Wilder, and to this end it serves its purpose well. Wilder gets the best of what comic lines and routines there are, and he's always an enjoyable screen presence. His character is saintly to the point of naivety, and he makes the most of its humorous possibilities. Pryor backs him up well, and has one particularly memorable moment with "Blade", as he learns what it means to be a rodeo clown. The rest of the support cast, including George Stanford Brown, Craig T. Nelson, Jobeth Williams and Barry Corbin, are merely background.
Director Poitier is well aware of the plot's limitations, and so leaves his two big "Saturday Night Live" stars to carry proceedings with their slapstick routines and verbal banter. The pair do well and produce an enjoyable, light comedy.
Tuesday, June 11, 1996 - Video