Stir Crazy (Columbia/Tri-Star)

Stir Crazy (1980) Two unemployed New Yorkers, aspiring actor Harry Monroe and would-be playwright Skip Donahue, head west hoping to start fresh. Their luck turns disastrous when they are framed for a bank robbery while wearing promotional costumes and sentenced to a lengthy prison term. Inside a tough Arizona penitentiary, the mismatched friends struggle to survive until the warden discovers Skip's unexpected gift for riding bucking broncos. A prison rodeo becomes their unlikely chance at freedom, setting off a wild escape scheme filled with mistaken identities, slapstick mishaps and the irresistible chemistry of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor.

Movie Details

• Screenwriter: Bruce Jay Friedman
• Runtime: Approximately 111 minutes
• Rating: R
• Format: DVD
• Condition: Used

Cast and Characters

• Gene Wilder — Skip Donahue
• Richard Pryor — Harry Monroe
• Georg Stanford Brown — Rory Schultebrand
• JoBeth Williams — Meredith
• Miguel Ángel Suárez — Jesus Ramirez
• Craig T. Nelson — Deputy Ward Wilson
• Barry Corbin — Warden Walter Beatty
• Charles Weldon — Blade
• Nicolas Coster — Warden Henry Sampson
• Jonathan Banks — Jack Graham

Five Movie Facts

1. Sidney Poitier directed this hit comedy, bringing his filmmaking talents to the Wilder–Pryor partnership.
2. The film reunited Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor after their earlier success together in Silver Streak (1976).
3. The screenplay was written by novelist and humorist Bruce Jay Friedman.
4. Its prison-rodeo storyline gives the film an unusual mix of buddy comedy, Western spectacle and escape caper.
5. Stir Crazy was a major commercial success and helped establish Wilder and Pryor as one of the era's best-loved comedy pairings.

Why It's Worth Watching

Wilder's wide-eyed optimism and Pryor's quick-fire reactions make every setback funnier. Their chemistry turns a wildly improbable prison adventure into a memorable 1980s comedy favorite.

Used DVD notice: Any digital redemption code originally included is not guaranteed.