Nonureva Really Surprised!

Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Scott LeBrun Richard Pryor makes the most of the situation in this 1982 comedy which some viewers could continue to find distasteful. He's Jack Brown, a broke writer, supposedly working on a book, who's also been trying to get a job on a newspaper. Since work is awful hard to come boy, he takes a job as a "cleaning lady", and while goofing around in a toy store one night, he's spotted by Eric Bates (Scott Schwartz), a spoiled brat son of a pompous zillionaire (Jackie Gleason). Eric's under the impression that he can help himself to anything as long as he has the money, so Jack is hired as a plaything for the boy.Based upon the French comedy "Le Jouet", it's understandable that one would wince at various indignities to which Pryor must be subjected. But he and his fellow comic talent Gleason are able to mine a fair amount of laughs from various scenes and lines. Pryor really is at his best when reacting to other characters, while Gleason is perfect as a man who lives with his own version of reality: because he has all the wealth and power, he can make others do whatever he wants them to. Young Schwartz is appealing as the kid who must learn the movies' blatantly stated "you don't buy friends, you EARN them" message.The whole cast is great, though: Ned Beatty as sniveling flunky Morehouse, Wilfrid Hyde- White as Barkley the butler, sexy Teresa Ganzel as Gleasons' air headed trophy wife # 3, and Annazette Chase as Jacks' activist girlfriend.While not always terribly funny, there are some good gags, such as Jack marching into supposedly piranha infested water and getting his clothes cut to ribbons. The evolving relationship between Jack and Eric really is the heart and soul of the movie, though. Gleasons' activities sort of get glossed over by the end, but we can see that he is also a father who does genuinely love his son and does want to make a connection with him.If you're a fan of Pryor or Gleason, you'll likely have a good time with this.Six out of 10.

Aaron1375 With Richard Pryor and Jackie Gleason as the stars most people would say this has to be a funny film. Well there is a kid and he is kind of who the film revolves around so that will in all likelihood make this one more cute than need be. Still, Pryor and Gleason, two guys known for comedy, going to be a laugh riot...right? Well, the film for reasons unknown gets a bit to heavy handed at time adding social issues to a film that should be a comedy in the truest sense. Seriously, this film is one of those movies that just does not know what direction it wants to go in. One would think it was trying to appear to families, what with the kid with everything wanting a friend and such. Then why make the film so racial? The film at times becomes a movie about racial injustice and such, and then completely shifts to the moronic comedy when Richard Pryor's character runs over the top of the water to get away from piranha. Make up your mind, do not have a bit of looney tunes comedy in the middle of a film that up until that point did not have humor such as this. This film just tried to be to much and it ends up making the film a bit to boring at times for kids and to childish at times for adults. This film should of been about the kid wanting the person as a friend, you could have ditched Richard Pryor in favor of Jerry Lewis and scrap all the heavy handed stuff. Or you could of kept Richard Pryor, and still ditched all the heavy handed stuff. Though just seems that this film was somehow made for Jerry Lewis, do not ask me why. What we do get is a toy that is broken and not as shiny as it once was.

tavm Just rewatched this Richard Donner movie starring Richard Pryor and Jackie Gleason after 30 years on Netflix Streaming just now. In this one, Pryor plays Jack Brown, an unemployed reporter whose house may be put up for sale unless he gets a job so he finds employment, initially as a maid, for Gleason's U.S. Bates before being reassigned as his son, Eric's (Scott Schwartz), "toy". I'll stop there and just say that despite the silly premise and some potentially stereotypically offensive situations, I did laugh plenty again at many of Pryor's shenanigans with Schwartz and Gleason still was good for some reaction shots especially when he says "woof". Also funny are Ned Beatty-who previously was in Pryor's Silver Streak but has scenes with him here for the first time since co-star Gene Wilder had the lion's share of lines with him there-as toady Mr. Morehouse and Teresa Ganzel as Fancy, U.S.'s (or in her pronunciation-You Ass) wife. It does get really contrived near the end but still, The Toy was fun and somewhat inspirational to me still. With that out of the way, if you're familiar with my reviews, you know that I always like to cite when productions have something associated with my current hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Well, this movie was shot there and I always like recognizing many of the city's landmarks like a brick structure I noticed at the beginning as Pryor encounters a limousine with his first meeting with Fancy there or a scene inside Goudchaux's Department Store-a building that still exists though the store is no more-with his riding the Wonder Wheel or the Indian Mounds near LSU that Jack and Eric walk on and, most awesome of all, two scenes of the State Capital-one seen through the windows of U.S. Bates's office as he makes Morehouse take his pants off in front of Jack and Eric and the other as the latter two are walking near the building's grounds. Also, a couple of players are familiar to me: Linda McCann, who appears in a party scene and at the end, was a teacher of a classmate of mine during my days before high school. She plays Honey Russell. And Robert Earle, who played a poker player at the beginning, was known to me as Bob Earle, president of WIBR-AM 1300, who did promotions for and introed many old-time radio programs for the Top 40 station during the 1979-80 season before it switched to country as I-13 during the latter part of the year. That station went off the air after Hurricane Gustav went through the area on September 1, 2008. Oh, and one more thing, I also like to cite when someone from my birthtown of Chicago, Ill. is associated with the production who in this case was screenwriter Carol Sobieski who had also adapted Annie starring Albert Finney and Carol Burnett earlier in the year.

Alan Dunnary Richard Pryor's early 80s running down the street on fire incident must have affected him somehow. In his stand up,he jokes about it getting great laughs. It seemed to have done something involving the projects he chose. The Toy is about the lamest he ever chose,aside from I guess Another You.A movie where a white man buys his son a black man? Nice little bit of underlying political incorrectness before thee was such a thing. It's seeing Richard getting all sentimental that made me finally walk out before the end. I wanted to see Pryor get even with this brat,instead it becomes the misunderstood kid nauseum! At least Gleason had his moments. Ignore this and watch Pryor with Gene Wilder or any of his '70s stuff. This is a waste of any movie watcher's time!