Review of Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983) by Paul K — 06 Aug 2008

This man is funny. Really funny. Smart. Talented. And scathing, too. He's got that bit of anger to him, that edge that disciples Murphy and Chappelle would adopt and re-invent in their later years on the throne.

I laughed out loud many times and also felt sadness for his untimely loss. That and I felt sorry for him during this particular act because he had such a stupid, imbecilic audience. It's funny because I thought that was really a symptom of our irreverent, over-spoiled time, but apparently this sort of moronic behavior always existed.

Pryor dances with it, though, and deals it back in such a way that shuts his interruptions up quickly (albeit temporarily). There are moments that seem to go on too long, like when Rich does his famous impersonation of a junkie on heroine.

I couldn't help but think "this guy is only getting away with this exaggerated performance because of his fame." And the production methods are dated and really cheesy. But these are minor quibbles, really.

Richard Pryor's humor is timeless and unequivocally unconquerable. I will always miss him and I urge fans of Dave Chappelle to check this performance out.