MovieChat Forums > Stir Crazy (1980) Discussion > It's like 2 different movies,

It's like 2 different movies,

posted 19 years ago by Billybob-Shatner
6 replies | jump to latest

The first half and the second half.

I find everything before Wilder gets on the automated bull to be hilarious, and everything after it, just not as funny. It seemed like such an unneccessary plot device. Seemed like a different movie from that point on. More contived and by the numbers, when everything before it was simple, and frankly hilarious. It's also a shame Pryor all but dissappears in the second half also...

I'd still recommend it. But mainly for the first half... Anyone agree?

[–] The_Johnson 18 years ago

I agree that the ending is far weaker than could be expected, especially after almost every scene in the opening hour is a classic.

My cut-off point for the gags would be after Grossberger's "Down in the Valley" song - everything after that is more like a rodeo / prison escape documentary than a comedy. It's still watchable though.

[–] patbrien 18 years ago

It was a big, ambitious movie. A lot of the scenes, though, were improvised between Wilder and Prior, and I think that's what makes it so wildly funny; but you can imagine that they had to buckle up for the big Hollywood ending with it's tight (ass), plot limiting what they could do together.

Having said that, it still works for me. It's a great movie.

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[–] JAML 18 years ago

yeah, i know. other movies that i can think of that do the same thing: Stripes with bill murray, and Private Benjamin with goldie hawn.

[–] A_Minor_Blip 18 years ago

you bring up stripes and that's totally liken to this movie, the whole thing was great till they took that truck and got the others kidnapped (in stripes) and in this movie, it does get quite weak after the rodeo thing... especially when the three inmates are telling Wilder what to do and what the deal is, pryor is already acting like a seasoned con, it's pretty lame, it's the scene where the spanish guy is telling wilder about what the wardens spend the money on, pryor's acting like iceberg slim or something...

personally, my favorite scenes are before they even go to prison... i enjoyed watching them having no purpose at all...

[–] gribfritz2 13 years ago

Agreed. Wilder acting offbeat/loony and Pryor dealing with it: great. Wilder and Pryor dealing with wacky inmates in jail: also great. Wilder competing in a rodeo: terrible. Inmates using an overly-convoluted plan to escape: also terrible.

[–] Gwasgray 9 years ago

I felt the same way, the last part of the movie doesn't have much comedy in it and the breakout sequence is decently constructed but takes up too much time. It felt like the director (Sidney Poitier) was just trying to show what he could do rather than just film Wilder and Pryor being funny.

Wilder is brilliant in this though, he nails the "unworldly nerd behaving in a way that would get your ass kicked in real life" thing which I've seen lots of actors try to attempt but rarely do anywhere near as well as this.