Review of Stir Crazy (1980) by Nick B — 23 May 2010

Iâ??d decided to attempt to look in and study some of the legends of comedies history a little while back, which led me to Richard Pryor. Deciding to tackle some of his work, I was obviously led to Gene Wilder, a duo I guess as famous as they are independently as they were for making films together in the twilights of their career.

Iâ??d not seen Stir Crazy, even as a kid, so I was coming at this fresh. Iâ??d just watched Pryorâ??s Live On The Sunset Strip, where he refers to the making of this film, so it seemed the next logical step.

It was fun, not an incredible standout, but I could see how and why this would have been immensely popular at the time. I know its not exactly a secret, but you do often forget how immensely talented Gene Wilder was, and its interesting to note Pryor is playing the straight guy throughout, which I actually didnâ??t expect.

I also didnâ??t expect this film to be a jail yard meets rodeo meets prison break movie. Its aged a little, but otherwise an enjoyable effort. One final thing, did Craig T Nelson have a bit part in every film in the early 80s?