Fun jail break film. I get the impression this film is mostly ad-libbed and just lets the 'comedy duo' play in each scene. In fact the scenes seem so loose that it almost suffers in some parts. Some scenes are unforgettably funny, and others are plain bizarre but i enjoy the fearlessness of both actors. It's the usual naive and optimistic Wilder versus street wise and pessimistic Pryor, but it works for whatever reasons. People seem to find this film on a comedic par with Hear No Evil See No Evil, despite them being made nearly a decade apart. There is definitely some weird magic happening on screen, and the supporting cast is at their best. Stands strong for 1980.

It takes a visit to middle America for two jaded New Yorkers (Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor) to figure out. They are framed for a bank robbery, end up in prison, and plot to escape while performing in the warden's rodeo, a supposed fund raiser where the profits end up going in his pocket rather than to make life for those behind bars a bit better. Like the much later rodeo, this is a comedy about showing country folk that just because someone comes from an urban jungle, doesn't mean they can't handle a wild ride on a bucking bull. In this case, it's Gene Wilder, who amazes everybody around him with his ability to remain afloat no matter what messy situation he gets into, while Pryor is playing an updated version of Stepin Fetchit minus the stereotypes.This is an enjoyably funny popcorn film with the two stars supported by the lovely Jobeth Williams as the attorney determined to prove their innocence and George Stanford Brown as a flamboyant gay prisoner who actually shows heart underneath his pansy exterior. An interracial buddy type "Road" movie, this was the second of three pairings for Pryor and Wilder, each of whose brand of comedy flatters the others. This is one time where you want to see the men behind bars outwit the men guarding them.

I first watched this movie as a kid in cinemas I had to go and watch it like 10 more times.my stomach was in cramps every time and tears were coming out of my eyes of laughter.Right from the beginning jokes and one liners.At the lunch when Henry finds out his drug was used as oregano.The Californian earthquake line as epic as any. But of course the most funny scenes are in prison,especially when they pretend the are bad.Unforgettable! I cannot analyse this movie or any other the way critics do.As long as I like it and entertains me or makes me thinking then it works for me. The only flaw of this one probably the last 10 minutes of it,when you don't get any more laughter only the outcome of their attempt to escape from prison.But even this works as the storyline requires an ending. The team of Wilder and Pryor at their very best.U wanna have a good time u must watch this!!!

Not having seen this in about 30 years, I didn't know if I'd still think Sidney Poitier's Stir Crazy was as funny as I originally thought it was. I just watched it again on Netflix Streaming and the answer is yes! I mean, from the set up beginning sequences with Richard Pryor as a waiter and Gene Wilder as a store detective, there's plenty of funny stuff here. By the time they get to prison, Pryor and Wilder try lots of crazy stuff that still got me in stitches especially when Richard's character has to deal with a gay inmate named Rory Schultebrand (Georg Standford Brown) who has a fancy for him. Fellow inmates Gene and Richard befriend include Jusus Ramirez (Miguel Angel Suavez) and Grossberger (Erland Van Lidth De Jeude). The latter doesn't talk but he does provide a nice singing voice that compliments Gene's in a later duet. Others they meet in the cell include Blade (Charles Weldon), Big Mean (Cedrick Hardman), his sidekick-Slowpoke (Grand L. Bush), and a guy who punches the former (Tony Burton). Outside of the jail are many now-familiar faces like Joel Brooks as lawyer Len Garber, JoBeth Williams as cousin Meredith, her future Poltergeist co-star Craig T. Nelson as deputy Ward Wilson, and Barry Corbin as warden Walter Beatty who has the distinction of appearing in two 1980 movies featuring the mechanical bull, the other being Urban Cowboy. Since this is Black History Month, I'd like to complete this review by citing three more African-American players other than Pryor, Brown, Weldon, Hardman, Bush, and Burton: Franklyn Ajaye-who previously appeared with Pryor in Car Wash-as a young man in hospital ward that accidentally got a nut cut off, Esther Sutherland as the cook Sissie in the beginning sequence, and Pamela Poitier-Sidney's daughter-as the cook's helper. So on that note, I highly recommend Stir Crazy. Oh, and I also noticed Luis Avalos-the guy named Chico who uses pliers for sinister purposes-from my childhood TV show, "The Electric Company" from the '70s.