Movie News

A new doc in March, I AM RICHARD PRYOR

Published at: Feb. 6, 2019, 10 p.m. CST by Freddy Beans

Freddy Beans here with a trailer of a documentary on Richard Pryor. Brilliantly titled, I AM RICHARD PRYOR!

I can only hope this documentary really delves into every nook and cranny it can in retelling the story of Mr. Pryor. If there was a better comic, let me know. The man took the wildest life of immense pain and poverty and turned it into laughter for all of us peons. He gave us the pleasure of being the bully. That he was the target was inconsequential. That’s where he finds comedy.

Jesse James Miller (UGANDA RISING) directs. There also seems to be a lot of interviews with a lot of mediocre comedians! Lily Tomlin deserved better than that joke. I’d like this film to go bug nuts on Richard, and include his movies. Not just the mainstream hits, but the Blaxploitation hits and misses. Especially the relationship with Jim Brown!

I want this documentary to be like Richard, himself. Honest to unflinching degrees.

I’m going to go on a tiny rant here. Be warned.

This is what’s missing in our society, government, and comedy. I’m going to stick to the comedy aspect, don’t worry. Take C.K. Louis, the guy likes to be a jerkoff, right? When he goes out on stage the next time, should he joke about kids getting shot? How dumb was that? All he needed to do was fucking admit he was a pervert and had weird desires. We would have forgiven him. We love to forgive here in the states. The fucker even has the best platform on the planet to do so. The stage. He was the number one comic at the time. I loved him and still want him to be funny again. It hurts to know people you admire are shitty and imperfect. But…

Then you see guys like Richard Pryor and it makes all the sense in the world. Be fucking honest. Why is that so hard for us? Shit, most of us don’t’ go to work and come home the same person. Family. Friends. Random people. All of us have the hardest time being truthful. Whether it’s masks or programmed talk.

I’ve been on the Richard Pryor kick for a while now. It's my keto diet. Trying my hardest to tell the absolute truth. It’s tough. It burns at times. It literally makes you face your worst moments and shine a light on your faults.

Like Richard Pryor lighting himself on fire in a freebase cocaine induced delusion. Then going on stage for the first time, with my favorite standup set of his, RICHARD PRYOR: LIVE ON THE SUNSET STRIP (1982). Making himself the ass for our laughs. Talking about freebasing cocaine at the time was unheard of, let alone lighting yourself on fire with some Bacardi 151. Richard Pryor used that to entertain us and sure, make a lot of money.