Moving (1988)

Touches You

the audience applauded

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

When it first came out in '88, I read in the newspaper that it was not well received.Years later I watched it again and I now thing it's one of the best comedies out.Randy Quaid and Richard Prior made pure humour.It would have been great to see them both in something much more intense.Each great in their own way, as a team they would be double the trouble and 5 times the fun.Far better than any Adam Sandler or Seth Rogan movie made and better than the Sandler/Rogan actors themselves.Nothing enormously award winning, but a pleasurable waste of time.

Moving (1988) *** (out of 4)After getting the news that he's been laid off, Arlo Pear (Richard Pryor) must look for another job and finally finds one but it means he'd have to relocate his family from New Jersey to Idaho. At first they don't like the idea but what has to be done is clear so they head up to go West but run into one problem after another.In my opinion Pryor was the greatest stand up comic in history. There really wasn't anyone better at that R-rated type of humor and he could take perfectly normal situations and turn them into comic gold. His stand up films are some of the greatest out there but sadly his talents really didn't translate to the big screen. His movies were mostly misses, which is too bad considering his talent. I know MOVING isn't technically a "good" film but I must admit that I have a nostalgic thing for it and for the most part it makes me laugh.Again, if you're expecting a classic comedy or even a well-made one then it's best to not watch this film because it's kind of bland in ways and the direction is certainly lacking. What I do enjoy about the film is that it allows Pryor to play the nice guy that he has been doing throughout his career but they also let him enjoy a R-rating, which is something kind of rare for the actor. He really does a great job here playing the nice and calm guy who keeps having bad things happen to him until he snaps.Pryor is great here and really works well with the role and there's also some nice support for him. You've got Randy Quaid playing a couple roles and he's a lot of fun as is Dana Carvey in his scenes. Both Beverly Todd and Stacey Dash are good in their roles and there's even a funny cameo by a legendary comedian that I won't ruin. There are some funny moments scattered throughout the film but I think the best moments are when Pryor simply snaps and goes on some foul-mouthed rants.MOVING isn't a classic film and I'm not sure most people will enjoy it. I do find it to be rather charming in its own way though.

A simplistic, yet highly entertaining comedy starring Richard Pryor. Arlo pear (Pryor) seems to have literally EVERYTHING go wrong for him; from his house move, to a new job, to his daughter wanting to marry a sleaze bag! The dog wants to give up and bury itself, and as for the fixtures and fittings in the new house: "Are they staying there or are you taking those with you?". And "After 15 years I gave him the wrong finger!" Doesn't make any sense yet? Good. Track down a copy on ebay, amazon, or any good retailer and watch it. It's a shame Warner Bros won't release it on DVD though, as like many other Pryor classics (see Stir Crazy, Brewsters millions, and See no evil, hear no evil) this is fantastic. This film isn't meant to win any Oscars nor be critically acclaimed. It's mean to be watched and enjoyed by all. It achieves exactly what it set out to do.

This is what happens when you try to restrain Richard Pryor's talents to a relatively safe and formulaic setting. It just doesn't fit. The film's writers and producers obviously couldn't make their minds up about what direction they were going to take this in. Family comedy, Pryor vehicle or kick ass suburban nightmare send-off? In they end they tried to attach all three and not surprisingly the result is a poorly paced and confused affair lacking coherence and overall good direction.'The Burbs' was intelligent because it kind of put you in a safe and familiar environment then turned it on it's head. It also had some really well developed characters. But there is little at best of that here. Randy Quaid's character is supposed to be the neighbour from hell. At least that is what we're told and what is instigated through Pryor's reaction to him. But we don't actually see much evidence of this. Which kind of made me not really understand why Pryor hated him so much. Shame as well because this is the kind of role that big Randy usually kicks ass in ie. - 'National Lampoons Vacations I,II and IV' and 'Next Door'. The removals guys were just really predictable (with the King Kong Bundy joke not really working nowadays) and though he usually makes me laugh the Dana Carvey section just wasn't well.......funny.The side stories about Pryor's daughter staying behind in Jersey because of her new boyfriend also just falls apart. He doesn't answer a call from her the night after her folks leave so from that we are meant to infer I think that he is cheating or something so she just ups sticks and moves out after her folks. Okay. But what the hell does this contribute to the story? Similarly Pryor's two twin sons decide to pass themselves off as one person throughout the movie. Ah the old identical twin joke. So their parents never went to a parent's night obviously as they claim that nobody ,outside the family home, has ever clocked onto it in their 12 years of existence. And this plot device is used for? Well nothing. Just another inconsequential little side story with no resolution. The whole bit involving Pryor becoming a Post-Apocalyptic like, Kung-Fu using warrior out of frustration is more embarrassing than entertaining sadly. This films just left me feeling disappointed as there were certainly the tools and potential for something more. As it is it's more of a kind of mild and forgetful rainy Saturday afternoon type of experience. Check out 'Neighbours'and 'Funny Farm' if your looking for something in the same territory which hits the mark more often. See 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation' or 'The Burbs' if your looking something along the same lines but which is completely superior.