Review of See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) by Ryan A — 29 Dec 2009

Seasoned comics Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder play an "odd couple" who, first, find themselves in business together at a small newsstand, and then stumble into the middle of a global crime plot.

A "drop man" is murdered by fellow thugs, but the police nail our pair, who happen to be handy and can't explain why they're not involved.

The problem is partly communications. Pryor plays a blind man, and Wilder is deaf--each man's picture of the crime is shaped by the senses he DOES have. This is bad enough for the cops to sort out, but when our two break away, imagine escaping through the back alleys of the city, hand cuffed, one who can't see, another who can't hear. Deft coordination and shared skills.

So the humor is wild and physical. Still, instead of just playing it for laughs, there is a gentle subplot of sympathetic bonding, and talking out life with a handicap. These guys keep the two in balance and make it work.

It's not quite a full four star performance, but this warm, genuine humanity brings it well above a three.

In a clever end game scene, the criminal king pins turns out to be blind too, and he and our blind hero go head to head, using only their sharp hearing radar.

It is "R" rated for an occasional rush of "F" words, and a little "raw" (but not raunchy) sexual content.