An essentially empty script is made palatable by Richard Pryor's ability to be funnier than his material. Pryor and Gene Wilder are two losers from New York who decide to drive to California to change their luck. Along the way they stop in a small town and take a job requiring them to wear
woodpecker costumes. When two crooks don identical outfits and rob the local bank, Pryor and Wilder are arrested for the crime, convicted, and given 120-year prison terms. Wilder is his usual hyperactive self, but director Sidney Poitier gets as much as he can out of the uninspired script.
Released:
1980
Rated:
R
Length:
111 mins