When I was a kid I would watch this movie over and over and never tire of it. It was a favorite of mine. I knew nothing of the plot I only knew that Richard Pryor was a cut up and he was playing the role of a child's toy.
Well, I just watched this movie this morning and this movie is humiliating. Richard Pryor plays Jack Brown, a clown claiming to be a journalist. No, he wasn't a clown by trade, he was a journalist but he was such a buffoon that there's no way he could've legitimately became a journalist. His foolish antics were so extreme that they got him fired as a cleaning "lady" (yes, cleaning lady) and got him hired as a child's toy. Not only was it humiliating watching Richard Pryor play the role of a total screw up but the humiliation only intensified when he was purchased. Yes, purchased; much like a slave trader would purchase a slave at an auction. A rich white kid named Eric Bates (Scott Schwartz) quite literally said, "I want to buy that black man." Jack Brown allowed himself to be bought/rented all the while proclaiming he had dignity.
From there it was a series of abuse at the hands of Master Eric as is the norm with children and their toys. I guess there was a message built into the movie but it was lost on me because it was so horribly done. Whatever point that was made when Jack Brown and Eric Bates forged their relationship was lost amidst the complete buffoonery on Jack Brown's part. He lavishly screws up time and again yet had the nerves to ask U.S. Bates (Jackie Gleason) for a job as a journalist at his paper--commenting that no men of color worked there. If he hired Jack Brown it would have only been to fill a quota because Jack wasn't qualified to shine shoes let alone write for a newspaper.
This farcical show was wretched. Pryor is a total stooge, Gleason is an oblivious quasi-racist rich fat cat and the kid is just another spoiled rich kid. If you like seeing black men playing stereotypical dumb you-know-what roles then this is the movie for you.
Well, I just watched this movie this morning and this movie is humiliating. Richard Pryor plays Jack Brown, a clown claiming to be a journalist. No, he wasn't a clown by trade, he was a journalist but he was such a buffoon that there's no way he could've legitimately became a journalist. His foolish antics were so extreme that they got him fired as a cleaning "lady" (yes, cleaning lady) and got him hired as a child's toy. Not only was it humiliating watching Richard Pryor play the role of a total screw up but the humiliation only intensified when he was purchased. Yes, purchased; much like a slave trader would purchase a slave at an auction. A rich white kid named Eric Bates (Scott Schwartz) quite literally said, "I want to buy that black man." Jack Brown allowed himself to be bought/rented all the while proclaiming he had dignity.
From there it was a series of abuse at the hands of Master Eric as is the norm with children and their toys. I guess there was a message built into the movie but it was lost on me because it was so horribly done. Whatever point that was made when Jack Brown and Eric Bates forged their relationship was lost amidst the complete buffoonery on Jack Brown's part. He lavishly screws up time and again yet had the nerves to ask U.S. Bates (Jackie Gleason) for a job as a journalist at his paper--commenting that no men of color worked there. If he hired Jack Brown it would have only been to fill a quota because Jack wasn't qualified to shine shoes let alone write for a newspaper.
This farcical show was wretched. Pryor is a total stooge, Gleason is an oblivious quasi-racist rich fat cat and the kid is just another spoiled rich kid. If you like seeing black men playing stereotypical dumb you-know-what roles then this is the movie for you.