Stir Crazy (1980)

My Review

Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor were paired for a second time in “Stir Crazy,” the story of two friends sent to prison for a crime they did not commit, and, as expected, comedy ensues. Director Sidney Poitier (“Buck and the Preacher” 1972) used his considerable experience in motion pictures in crafting this watchable comedy.

The screenplay by Bruce Jay Friedman is good material for Pryor and Wilder, as well as for co-stars like Georg Stanford Brown, JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Barry Corbin, Nicholas Coster, Miguel Angel Suarez, Jonathan Banks, and Lee Purcell. “Stir Crazy” was the third highest grossing film of 1980 for Columbia Pictures.

It was filmed primarily in Arizona, with additional scenes shot in California, New York, and Nevada. Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor appeared in four films together – “Silver Streak” (1976), “Stir Crazy” (1980), “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” (1989), and “Another You” (1991).