Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982) Columbia/Comedy RT: 82 minutes Rated R (strong language throughout including references to sex, violence and drugs) Director: Joe Layton Screenplay: Paul Mooney and Richard Pryor Music: Harry Betts Cinematography: Haskell Wexler Release date: March 12, 1982 (US) Cast: Richard Pryor. Box Office: $36.2M (US)
Rating: ***
In his second concert film Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip, the comedian introduces us to a new persona, one that’s wiser and more introspective than the wild, hard-partying guy we knew in the previous decade. It’s first time he’s been back on stage since he set himself on fire during an episode of drug-induced psychosis in June ‘80. Nearly dying seems to have scared Pryor straight. It also makes him more vulnerable in the eyes of an adoring audience. They see before them a man who now accepts that he is NOT indestructible. It makes the comedian more human. At the same time, he still commands the stage like very few can.
The movie opens with a montage of the various rock clubs, motels and other hot spots along L.A.’s famed Sunset Strip including Whisky a Go-Go and the Chateau Marmont Hotel where, coincidentally, John Belushi died eight days before Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip landed in theaters. It then cuts to inside the Palladium where we watch Pryor take control of the stage. He gets off to a rocky start. His timing is a bit off. We can see that his confidence has ebbed somewhat. It takes about 20 minutes or so for Pryor to find his rhythm but once he does, he puts on a good show.
As a comedian, Pryor does more than just tell jokes. Any drunken idiot at a party can do that with varying results. Pryor is a born storyteller. When he tells a story, there’s always a point to it. He tells us about his trip to Africa. He talks about the native animals, a bit that I found lacking. Then he gets to his last day there. While sitting in his hotel room, he realized that in the weeks he spent there, he never heard anybody use the n-word. Not even once. It hit him so hard on an emotional level, he vowed then and there to never use the n-word again.
He’s open and honest about his life; in particular, his past drug use. He speaks of his cocaine pipe as if it was a living entity. He talks about tough guy actor Jim Brown coming to visit him and asking repeatedly “Whatcha gonna do?” as a means of intervention. His honesty in these moments is frank and brutal…. and funny.
Pryor talks about the night of his accident. In one of the movie’s comic highlights, he explains that the incident was caused by him dunking a cookie into a mixture of low-fat and pasteurized milk. He also quips, “When you’re running down the street on fire, people get out of your way.” He goes on to describe his sometimes painful recovery and his new drug-free outlook on life. Pryor has the unique gift of effectively mixing pathos with humor. This is why he’s still regarded as one of the all-time great comedians.
Not all of Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip works for me. The opening bit about sex is a bit weak. The animals talking, while amusing, is rather silly. HOWEVER, Pryor’s imitations of the Italian mobsters he worked for in his youth are spot-on and hilarious. He is a gifted mimic. That bit had me laughing so hard, I had to pause the DVD until I could compose myself. I also got a kick out of his on-set stories from Stir Crazy. In talking with the inmates at Arizona State Penitentiary where the 1980 comedy was filmed, he asked one dude why he killed everybody in the house. The guy answers, “They was home.” These three words support Pryor’s earlier “Thank God we got penitentiaries” comment better than any government-funded research project on the subject.
Pryor died in 2005 of a heart attack after years of declining health due to MS. Knowing that, a viewing of Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip is accompanied by sadness for a lost talent. At the same time, watching the audience (including Jesse Jackson) laughing riotously reminds us that Pryor is not really gone. He lives on through his work. The guy made some great films including my personal favorite Bustin’ Loose. I’m not sure I’d call Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip great, but it’s definitely good. At the very least, it should serve as a primer for aspiring comedians. This is how it’s done, comedy grasshoppers.
TRIVIA TIDBIT: Did you ever wonder why a billboard for the movie musical Annie is so prominently displayed on the poster. That’s because director Joe Layton served as executive producer on it. Talk about self-promotion.
