Scarlet gets twice the profanity and comedy with Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor Stand-Up Comedy Double Feature: 3 Stars
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| [B]Released on DVD May 24[/B] |
Double your pleasure and double your fun with Richard Pryor’s double disc collection featuring Here and Now and Live on Sunset Strip. Lets go back to times where comedy was free and people could get away with saying shit that would never fly under a whisper in today’s times. Experience Richard in his prime when he commands the stage with satirical tales of sex, drugs and politics.
Disc 1: Richard Pryor Here and Now (1983)
A classic performance from Saenger Theater in New Orleans, Richard takes the stage with his wit and humor. Shits, motherfuckers, and racist slang, this comedic legend got away with more than any comedian today could ever hope for. You have to remember Richard worked in times when America had a since of humor and could take a joke. Now that shit don’t fly, America can’t take a joke and we take things way too serious. Too many people get offended way too easily for this type of humor to be seen as true comedic genius. Jokes about weed, racism, sex, politics and everything in between was thrown out with absolutely no discretion, Richard let it all out and either you took it or he didn’t give a shit.
Disc 2: Live on Sunset Strip (1982)
Richard always acts a little vulnerable on stage, this time with good reason; Richard is back on stage for the first time after setting himself on fire. Still funny and still just as profane as usual Richard gives it his all with a whole range of characters and the ability to shine the spotlight on his own faults and makes us laugh even harder. Live on Sunset Strip was filmed in the Palladium down in the east end of Hollywood with the old nightclubs and dirty streets. He has an outstanding ability to characterize such people as a worker in a Mafia owned nightclub, Italian American gangster and two whites passing each other uncomfortably on the street in Africa, in little skits, like small plays that gives the audience a boost of energy in the middle of his stand-up.
Disc 1: RICHARD PRYOR HERE AND NOW
Disc 1: includes Richard Pryor DVD Promo Reel
Disc 2: RICHARD PRYOR LIVE ON SUNSET STRIP
I have listed above what you will get with the purchase of this DVD set. There are not many extras, but it’s a clear and clean cut of the skits and worth owning if you don’t have the singles already.
Richard is always funny, but sometimes he gets a little too much for me. The consistent use of profanity is no longer a shock value, but become like any other word used. He seems to use the same jokes over and over again, just changes the setting or place the joke took place in. Who am I to criticize what the general public enjoys? Now I remember who I am, I am a film critic with a perfectly good opinion on what is funny and what is not. Some of Richard is a down right riot, I really enjoyed Here and Now, but wasn’t such a big fan of Live On Sunset Strip. Here and Now he seemed to be a lot more confident in his jokes and his characters and less agitated by the audience interruptions and appearances. In Live On Sunset Strip Richard spends a lot of time dealing with the audience and acting a bit put out by their correspondence in his dialogue. Overall he is an American idol after all, who hasn’t heard of Richard Pryor and his ability to use the word fuck in every way known to man and some not.
Richard Pryor Stand-Up Comedy Double Feature (1982/1983)
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated:R
Starring: Richard Pryor
Directed by: Richard Pryor and Joe Layton