Stir Crazy

1980 "Two jailbirds who just want out of the cage."
6.7| 1h51m| R| en| More Info
Released: 12 December 1980 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

New Yorkers Skip Donahue and Harry Monroe have no jobs and no prospects, so they decide to flee the city and find work elsewhere, landing jobs wearing woodpecker costumes to promote the opening of a bank. When their feathery costumes are stolen and used in a bank robbery, they no longer have to worry about employment — they're sent to prison.

Genre

Comedy

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Stir Crazy (1980) is now streaming with subscription on Starz

Director

Sidney Poitier

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures

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Stir Crazy Audience Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment
FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
Acensbart Excellent but underrated film
TxMike A few weeks ago someone said "Shawshank Redemption" reminded them of "Stir Crazy", so I had to look it up. I watched it at home on DVD from my public library.It is a buddy movie, Gene Wilder as Skip Donahue and Richard Pryor as Harry Monroe. Skip is a writer that didn't earn anything the past year, Harry is an actor that earned $35 the past year. So thinking they had nothing to lose they headed off to the west coast in their jalopy. They had a breakdown in Arizona that consumed most of their money so they decided to stay a while and earn enough to continue west.They never got a chance, they were hired by a bank to wear woodpecker costumes to drum up business. During a lunch break two outlaws stole the costumes and robbed the bank. Of course the two NY buddies were arrested and convicted. Sentence - 125 years in prison.This isn't Shawshank by a long shot but there are some similarities. Barry Corbin who was just still early in his career plays Warden Walter Beatty. Almost 20 years later I met Corbin when I was an extra in a movie he was in, I remain a fan. Of course he went on to create the memorable Maurice Minnifield, ex astronaut, in the TV series "Northern Exposure."This movie runs a bit long for me, some of the physical humor went on too long. But Wilder and Pryor are both in good form and overall this is an entertaining movie.SPOILERS: For my own recollection, Skip is a natural at bull-riding, he and others are in the prison rodeo, $50,000 is on the line for the two wardens, some inmates help plan the escape, they slip into the stands, get changed, drive out in a van. As they are about to take a car and hit the road they are intercepted and told that the real crooks were caught and they were free men. They get the girl and the three of them head west.
thesar-2 Let's just begin with, if you're in the mood for a funny prison movie, you'll find both The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile ten times more humorous than Stir Crazy.Yeah, I know this is (barely) the 1980s, but hell, this was more like a 70s sitcom pilot that needed to be cancelled before aired. Aside from obviously-thrown-in-for-an-R-Rating stripper nudity and some mild swear words, this truly felt like some dated half-hour comedy on CBS of decades passed. This is sad since it started off so promising. No laughs, but it did manage to get a couple of big grins from me in Act One where our "heroes" get fired in New York City and decide to move to Hollywood to make it rich and score as many women as sand on the beaches. But, about a half-hour into the over-long two hour runtime, our boys wrongfully and apparently, willingly end up in prison. With the odds so stacked against them from not living out their remaining days behind bars, the movie really loses all steam, cleverness and fun.Of course, there's a silly turning point for them: a public rodeo that might serve as means of an escape. Throw in many characters to ensure the crazy in the title and you have your "film." Oh, and lest I forget: the biggest and most unlawful copout conclusion to any prison movie.I was shocked to learn all this from my first viewing last night. I thought this was supposed to be a cult classic. A laugh-out-loud riot signifying the Pryor/Wilder pair into cinematic history. Nope. In fact, I'm all-but upset I wasted two hours on an extremely humorless "comedy." I didn't laugh once…NOT ONCE. Like I said above, I smiled a few times indicating that scene or "joke" was somewhat clever, but it didn't get a chuckle out of me. If not for the chemistry between the boys and that the film was somewhat competently made, I'd rate this much lower. But, even with filmmakers knowing how to shoot scenes and two leads that work perfectly together, this movie is sorely NOT recommended. My first viewing of this comedic-duo was in See No Evil, Hear No Evil in theatres in 1989. I LOVED that movie. Just skip this 36-year-old dated movie and go with the 27-year-old timeless comedy: See No Evil, Hear No Evil.***Final thoughts: Whelp, that wraps up my Wilder Weekend. I figured I'd go with a trilogy of Gene Wilder films I had not seen in respect of his passing less than a week ago: The Producers, Young Frankenstein and Stir Crazy. The first and last I wouldn't recommend, but Y.F. I would totally support. That was one of the best comedies I've seen in a long time.
Predrag Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor starred in several movies together, and in "Stir Crazy" their comedic chemistry shines strong. A very good supporting cast (including Jo Beth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, and Barry Corbin) add to the strength of this entertaining film. And let us not forget that the one and only Sidney Poitier showed his ability as a comedy director for this.The scenes which slow this picture down are the rodeo-escape scenes toward the end of the film, and display very little life and are somewhat boring. The plot of "Stir Crazy", though, where Wilder and Pryor are framed for armed robbery and sent to prison, is quite amusing and hilarious, with the right amount of flavor and texture to grab my attention! Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
SnoopyStyle Skip Donahue (Gene Wilder) is a playwright. Harry Monroe (Richard Pryor) is an actor. They are unsuccessful best friends in NYC. After both getting fired, Skip is tired of the city and convinces Harry to move out to the west coast. Their van breaks down and they take jobs as mascots at a bank. Bank robbers steal their mascot outfits to rob the bank. Skip and Harry are arrested for the robbery and sent to prison for 125 years.Gene Wilder going crazy in prison is hilarious. That's the best scene in the movie. However it flattens out and loses some of the comedic tone. It's too bad. It becomes a bit too serious about an escape attempt and a rodeo contest. I still love the Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor pairing. They are one of the best comedic duo of all times. They do some really fun back and forth in this one. However there isn't a single laugh in the last section of the movie.