Bustin’ Loose

Back when Richard Pryor was on his comic game, he did a few movies to cash in on his success. I guess this was one of them. Despite it being a rated R movie, it’s about Pryor paying an ex-con named Joe who gets conned into taking a bus filled with kids to Washington state. In a very family comic vibe.

The kids are a wacky variety of charaters who are slightly more funny than Pryor, which only makes him more entertaining to look at.

Cicely Tyson co stars as a social worker trying to give these kids an opportunity they will never have of getting outdoors because the group home they come from is closing down.

Man, Cicely Tyson looks good. She’s in her ninties now making her in her 50s when she did the movie. She sure does not look like it, espically up against Richard Pryor who has to be vastly younger than her but does not look it.

Also in the movie is a young Paul Mooney (with hair). It’s worth mentioning because Pryor, back in the days, use Mooney a lot to write jokes for a number of things which possibly include this movie.

What I remember most about Pryor’s run as a movie star, however is that his comedy was more of a slapstick variety, which is mostly going on here. A lot of good sight jokes and a lot more of the laughter coming from the delivery more that what he’s saying.

I did not find the movie all that funny. In fact, it feels a little like Pryor was using this somewhat family-like comedy, as a guise to prove he can do some drama(it’s not good evidence at all) It’s  set up to be a heart-warming adventure, as the con man joe takes these kids accross America and somehow fixes psychological problems most people need lifelong theropy to fix, with a series of oddly place loudly done speeches telling the kids “they ain’t loosers!”

Not bad for a 90min movie, but of course it’s all about the metephior of what all kids need to become healthy adults rather than the real process, done simply to give you that rainbow ending that touches the soul. I herd that the movie’s success did inspire a tv series (maybe the same way the movie Cooley High inspired the tv series What’s Happening), and maybe that’s a bigger process.

I did see the movie a few times in my youth and what I remember most it seems is the music, which is not really that good just catchy.

I don’t now how fairly well Bustin Loose did when it first came out. It’s decent for what it wax and not a waste of time to go see it cause I did enjoy it but I’d seen better.