Moving

In this silly, but fun comedy from director Alan Metter(Back To School), Richard Pryor plays an engineer finds what seems to be the perfect job. The only problem is that the job is in Idaho, which means that his family would have to sell their home in Chicago and move out to Idaho. Several disasters occur as Pryor attempts to pack up and move across country, everything that could possibly go wrong does. The film is not exactly a laugh fest, but Pryor keeps the film entertaining with his great comic energy. Dave Thomas and Dana Carvey are fun in supporting roles, as well as Rodney Dangerfield as a gambling loan officer. Overall, a harmless film that benefits greatly from the presence of Pryor. 5.8/10.

Mass transit engineer Richard Pryor gets a dream job in Boise, Idaho, but he is in New Jersey. Thus he has to move his family in this silly and disappointing would-be-laugh-a-minute-fest. Pryor seems old and tired in this one and he just does not seem the same without Gene Wilder around. Randy Quaid and Dana Carvey try to add supporting turns, but neither dominates the action the way they should. A poor film and a real disappointment. 2 stars out of 5.

Moving should be rated higher! This movie's premise is great as it turns the act of moving into an absolute hilarity!! Family moves from New Jersey to Boise Idaho! You just know plenty of wacky hijinks are gonna occur!

I really think anyone who has ever experienced moving from one type of place to a completely different one, or anyone who just has had frustrations with moving in general will be able to relate. Nothing offensive about it, just plain good comedy, pretty fun to watch.

Yes, this movie is not quite what one would expect from Richard Pryor...light on the cussing, a touch of being almost a family comedy, but not quite that tame. In this movie we have a man who is laid off and is offered a very nice job in Boise. Of course, his daughter is rather upset about the prospect of going there, however his wife and twin sons are a bit more supportive. Also happy to see the family go is the crazy neighbor played rather good by Randy Quaid. A neighbor who for some reason must cut his rather small lawn with an industrial mower. Well he has a couple of moving agencies give their appraisal of what it would take to move and he goes with the more expensive as the cheap ones look like recently escaped convicts or something. They find a nice house in Boise where they meet the delightful owners who tell great jokes about how they are going to take everything from the doors to the pool with them. Then he finds just the perfect guy to drive one of his vehicles to the new house. Well everything begins to unravel rather quickly as the movers turn out to be familiar faces he does not want to see, the jokes on them with the new house, and the driver of the car has a bit of a mental problem. So all in all a funny movie, a few of the jokes miss the marks such as the giving the wrong finger thing, however most are pretty good like how the twin sons run track. So for a rather light Richard Pryor comedy that still has some good laughs, give this movie a try.

Moving (1988)

*** (out of 4)

After getting the news that he's been laid off, Arlo Pear (Richard Pryor) must look for another job and finally finds one but it means he'd have to relocate his family from New Jersey to Idaho. At first they don't like the idea but what has to be done is clear so they head up to go West but run into one problem after another.

In my opinion Pryor was the greatest stand up comic in history. There really wasn't anyone better at that R-rated type of humor and he could take perfectly normal situations and turn them into comic gold. His stand up films are some of the greatest out there but sadly his talents really didn't translate to the big screen. His movies were mostly misses, which is too bad considering his talent. I know MOVING isn't technically a "good" film but I must admit that I have a nostalgic thing for it and for the most part it makes me laugh.

Again, if you're expecting a classic comedy or even a well-made one then it's best to not watch this film because it's kind of bland in ways and the direction is certainly lacking. What I do enjoy about the film is that it allows Pryor to play the nice guy that he has been doing throughout his career but they also let him enjoy a R-rating, which is something kind of rare for the actor. He really does a great job here playing the nice and calm guy who keeps having bad things happen to him until he snaps.

Pryor is great here and really works well with the role and there's also some nice support for him. You've got Randy Quaid playing a couple roles and he's a lot of fun as is Dana Carvey in his scenes. Both Beverly Todd and Stacey Dash are good in their roles and there's even a funny cameo by a legendary comedian that I won't ruin. There are some funny moments scattered throughout the film but I think the best moments are when Pryor simply snaps and goes on some foul-mouthed rants.

MOVING isn't a classic film and I'm not sure most people will enjoy it. I do find it to be rather charming in its own way though.