Bustin' Loose

I just first watched this movie last night - 41-years after it was made - and found it an easy pleasant watch that caused no stress or strain or pain for your brain. Richard Pryor was Richard Pryor whilst the lovely Cicely Tyson was the beauty for the beast. The easy plot saw the crim-* hero come up trumps when driving a busload of young delinquents as a parolee under duress. Slapstick humour even included Dan Quayle's Alma Mater of the KKK getting made monkeys of themselves with Pryor's lead. If you want a laidback movie watch this one for a some good laughs and good humour. Recommended for a 90-min nothing-to-do break.

source: Bustin' Loose

Bustin' Loose (1981) *** (out of 4) Richard Pryor plays a con man who is blackmailed by his probation officer into taking eight troubled kids on a bus trip from Philadelphia to Seattle. Having been made in a politically incorrect time and featuring Pryor with troubled kids means you're going to have a great load of laughs but the film also has a heart of gold but more on this in a bit. As for pure laughs this is probably the best film I've seen from Pryor, although Moving is still my favorite movie of his due to it just being a personal favorite. This movie here features non-stop laughs from start to finish and it really gives Pryor a chance to act and he proves to be very reliable here. Pryor does a great job with the comedy and really delivers the jokes but what's most refreshing is seeing how well he does with the more dramatic moments. The film has a heart of gold but I think there are a few too many tender scenes meant to make the viewer get tears in their eyes. A lot of these dramatic scenes are pretty heartfelt but I think there are just too many of them. Pryor handles all of this very well though. Cicely Tyson plays the woman trying to save the kids and she's does a good job, although the romantic subplot with Pryor is pretty weak. There are numerous great scenes in the film including a great sequence where Pryor runs into the KKK but the highlight of the movie is certainly the scene where Pryor is driving the bus and three of the kids, acting like thugs, come up and start messing with him.

Movie fans think this film is about a criminal that drives school children across the united states in a school bus. This script goes way deeper than that within the story lines for each underprivileged child on that bus. The heroic nature of their school teacher, Ms. Vivan, goes beyond just taking care of them in their time of need. They become family on a cross-country road trip of salvation while learning how to live life in an unforgiving world. The film script shows how kind and generous adults can be when they truly see how unfortunate circumstances impact children. Ultimately, children from all walks of life need to have an adult that has their back through every stage in life.

Richard Pryor plays Joe Braxton, a multiple time loser that failed yet again at trying to score. This time he tries to steal from an electronics store. The judge gives him 10 years probation in lieu of prison. His probation officer, Donald (Robert Christian), has a deal for Joe: take his girlfriend, Vivian (Cicely Tyson), and a busload of discarded youth to Washington state or face prison time. Reluctantly, Joe agrees. I see that Pryor wrote and produced this feature. It is not his funniest work but it is probably his most positive work. Just like him, the kids were considered losers. Vivian saw more in the kids and she would begin to see more in Joe as well. It's a feel good story even if the cacophony of the children got irksome. It's hard to hate this movie even if I didn't love it.

"Bustin' Loose" is a surprisingly delightful, even occasionally moving film. An ex-con (Richard Pryor) helps a teacher (Cicely Tyson) move a group of 'special' children three thousand miles across the U.S. from Philadelphia to Washington State. After a slow, and somewhat not so promising start, the movie picks up as the journey across country begins. "Bustin' Loose" has its comic moments and remains quite simple throughout, with a warm and touching finale that makes it all worthwhile. Credit this to astute director Oz Scott, and the inspired teaming of comic genius Richard Pryor and co-star Cicely Tyson. Monday, July 1, 1991 - Video

I watched this movie often as a kid growing up in the 80's and it was and still is one of my favorite movies. It's one of those movies where when it ends, you actually feel better than when it began. You go on a journey with these people and actually find out a few things about yourself along the way. I'm thinking that most people can relate to at least one of the characters in the movie and even though it is similar to an after school special, it's so much better than that due to the acting of both Richard Pryor and Cicely Tyson. The children are great as well, when needed. I LIKED the music score. There were some scenes that I could have done without, particularly in the last 30 minutes of the movie, but overall I could watch this movie on a Sunday afternoon, before Goonies and after The Toy.

Richard Pryor produced and wrote this movie, so he had full control. That's why his jokes and acting are top notch, but unfortunately the silly story with taking kids on a bus tour falls flat, for me as an adult that is to say. But perhaps kids would love this movie, because most of the jokes are right in your face, the way kids seem to like comedy. Richard Pryor falling in a pool of dirt. That sort of jokes. But there are some good racist jokes as well, although still packaged in a children's friendly version. Also recommended for Richard Pryor fans, because he wrote all of his own jokes and you can tell that Pryor is in his element, because of that full control of writing and acting. The way he shouts, swears and panics is as good as in his stand up comedy work, although without the gross adult jokes. It's basically still a friendly children's comedy, which some subtle jokes for the adults mixed in as well. I gave it barely 6 stars because Richard Pryor is great, but the movie as a whole didnt keep me excited till the end.

Bustin' Loose (1981) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a man whose parole officer makes him help the parole officer's girlfriend move across country with 8 troubled children she supports. The man is told he just needs to drive the bus with the kids and girlfriend but once the trip starts he quickly discovers he has bit off more than he can chew. This movie is directed by Oz Scott (The Jeffersons) in his directorial debut and stars Richard Pryor (Harlem Nights), Cicely Tyson (The Help), George Coe (The Stepford Wives) and Peggy McCay (General Hospital). This movie has so many great memorable sequences and seeing Richard Pryor in his element creates so must nostalgia. The courtroom scene and blind kids on the bus sequences are legendary and absolutely hilarious. Pryor does a great job of feeling authentic and genuine in both his help and frustrations as the storyline evolves. The circumstances are a bit uneven with some being funny and fun and some being a bit cheesy. This isn't a crazy funny movie, or one of Pryor's best, but it is fun and heart warming. I would strongly recommend seeing this and score it a 6.5/10.

This movie may appear to be a family movie, but yet Richard Pryor's Braxton character is clearly not a family man. He swears and yells at children, slaps them, teaches them strip poker and is constantly smoking stogies. I found myself really enjoying this movie though. There are quite a few laugh out loud moments. I especially liked when the Miss Perry character told Braxton to be careful with his cigar because he might set himself on fire! The movie even features comedian Paul Mooney in a small cameo at the beginning.