“I haven’t been real honest with you, either. I got some stuff I gotta tell you. I’m gonna be honest, starting today.” – Jo Jo Dancer
Number of Times Seen – 1 (8 Mar 2022)
Brief Synopsis – A comedian reflects on his life after suffering through a tragic accident.
My Take on it – This is a film that I recall hearing about years ago, yet never really checked it out until now.
Knowing the tragic back story of Richard Pryor’s life adds so much to this film because it is semi autobiographical.
What’s even more amazing is that Pryor himself actually directed the film as well as contributed to the script.
The story plays out really well and does a wonderful job showing how someone could have such a meteoric rise and fall from stardom.
The biggest problem with this film tho is that at 97 minutes, it feels too truncated and short when instead they could have expanded more on some of the scenes.
In addition to Pryor, this film has a great cast that includes Debbie Allen, Art Evans and Wings Hauser who all enhance things even more.
The movie does a great job blending together comedy and drama while showing that just because someone is famous and wealthy, it doesn’t mean that everything in their life is perfect.
Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The film is basically Richard Pryor’s autobiography, paralleling many incidents and experiences in his life, although he said that not everything in the film actually happened to him, and some of the characters aren’t based on real people. However, the movie was filmed in Los Angeles, California, and in Peoria, Illinois, at the locations where much of the story takes place. (From IMDB)
Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)
_______________________________________
Check out my *updated* movie stats here
To see my reviews of Oscar Winning Performances check out this link
To see my reviews of all Oscar Best Picture Winners click here (now complete)
Here is a link to my movie index A-Z
MovieRob 