Now that may sound misleading since Lovecraft had nothing to do with this Pryor, Gleason and Donner comedy, but there was so much in it that would be impossible to comprehend.First let's address the elephant in the room. Yes it's a rich white Billionaire buying a black man for his kid to play with. Yes by all accounts it's modern day slavery. Yes this pretty much became severely harsher in hindsight not just from those implications, but due to the recent events surrounding human trafficking. But what I like about the movie isn't just the comedy once you get past it. But the fact that they managed to get this movie made at all in spite of the implications. If a censor today were to look at this idea, they would probably have the human equivalent to Blue Screen of Death before going insane at how they managed to get away with that. And that's why I consider it a Lovecraft movie. Because it's that F***ing crazy.

Jack Brown (Richard Pryor) is a struggling writer in Baton Rouge. He's even playing poker for food stamps. His family home is about to be auctioned off unless he can come up with $10k or get a job. In desperation, he applies for a maid's job for wealthy U.S. Bates (Jackie Gleason). Sydney Morehouse (Ned Beatty) reluctantly hires him after getting threatened with a lawsuit. U.S. fires him but U.S.'s spoiled 9 year old son "Master" Eric Bates (Scott Schwartz) finds the black janitor fascinating. Eric demands to buy him since U.S. promised Eric anything in his department store. U.S. is an absentee divorced father with Eric only one week every year. U.S. is married to bubbly new wife Fancy (Teresa Ganzel).I love Richard Pryor. Yes I'm the one guy who likes Superman III. He has an instant likability and that makes all the difference. Quite frankly, I missed all the racial undertones as a kid watching this movie. I just found it fun with a touching story of a family coming back together. I don't even mind the annoying brat because it allows him to grow as a human being. It's all very heart warming. I also loved all the toys as a kid and there is nothing better than Pryor.

Is the toy Gleason or Pryor's best movie, don't make me laugh. But it shouldn't have been trashed the way it was and still is because a bunch of politically correct pseudo-intelectuals in the media resented the racial undertones. The weakest link in this movie is the script. it could have been so much better. The editing is pretty spotty too. That much said it will make you laugh, and Gleason's performance is sincere, especially during the emotional conclusion. The complaints if the child actor's performance are justified, but mcalaey caulken was awful...he's a kid. what do you expect? I feel as if this movie got a bum rap for political reasons, and that's just a shame because funny is funny and that's the bottem line.

With Richard Pryor and Jackie Gleason as the stars most people would say this has to be a funny film. Well there is a kid and he is kind of who the film revolves around so that will in all likelihood make this one more cute than need be. Still, Pryor and Gleason, two guys known for comedy, going to be a laugh riot...right? Well, the film for reasons unknown gets a bit to heavy handed at time adding social issues to a film that should be a comedy in the truest sense. Seriously, this film is one of those movies that just does not know what direction it wants to go in. One would think it was trying to appear to families, what with the kid with everything wanting a friend and such. Then why make the film so racial? The film at times becomes a movie about racial injustice and such, and then completely shifts to the moronic comedy when Richard Pryor's character runs over the top of the water to get away from piranha. Make up your mind, do not have a bit of looney tunes comedy in the middle of a film that up until that point did not have humor such as this. This film just tried to be to much and it ends up making the film a bit to boring at times for kids and to childish at times for adults. This film should of been about the kid wanting the person as a friend, you could have ditched Richard Pryor in favor of Jerry Lewis and scrap all the heavy handed stuff. Or you could of kept Richard Pryor, and still ditched all the heavy handed stuff. Though just seems that this film was somehow made for Jerry Lewis, do not ask me why. What we do get is a toy that is broken and not as shiny as it once was.