Richard Pryor... Here and Now

Richard Pryor was one of the three greatest stand-up comedians of all time (along with George Carlin and Lenny Bruce), and there are three films that collectively show why: Richard Pryor: Live in Concert, Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip, and this comedy-concert film. In Here and Now, Pryor finds one of his best audiences in New Orleans - one patron even gives him a pet crab mid-show - and stumbles upon one of his most relaxed performances sans-"king of comedy" garb. His elderly character Mudbone shows up to discuss rude children, Mexicans, and earthquakes, along with a junkie character later who speaks of jail, invincibility, and tells us, "I did it myself" before depriving us of his company. There are no scenes in a comedy concert, so my favorite bit is the gut-clenching finale about erections, vibrators, herpes, and public toilets. Pryor was a master.

Richard Pryor: Here and Now is a funny snippet of the late period of Pryor's active career, before MS forced his retirement. It features classic Pryor characters such as Mudbone, while also incorporating new routines such as his description of a visit to Africa.

Pryor is as hilarious and uncensored as ever, covering topics including his struggle with substance abuse. The skits range from the comical to the poignant, with one sketch about a heroin addict having a particularly sad denouement.

Some reviewers have complained about the at times disruptive audience, but Pryor's interaction with the audience gives a better sense of his talent. We see his skill at improvisation, particularly in a scene where he receives a glass of water with some surprisingly animate contents.

"Here and now" is easily funnier than "Live on Sunset Strip", when it wants to. But also quite surreal. What makes it surreal is mainly the audience. In the middle of the show a middle-aged geezer hands Richard a crab in the water glass. Far out. Also, the heckling is quadrupled in this show. It was probably Mardi Gras time. But Man Pryor still made me choke from laughter, and the improv with the aforementioned crab was quick thinking too. Towards the end, it's Pryor's turn to crank up the surreal with his junkie-bit, which is also quite moving, if too much of a downer for a supposedly comedy show.

This show is something else.

If you happened to like Richard Pryor's movies, then please try watching one of his filmed comedy shows, because they will be more brutal, actual and relevant AND funny!

Lots of silly d88k jokes, really LOTS of them, but they are still undeniably funny as hell when Pryor makes those jokes.

What makes this comedy show stand out for me is his talking about his own drugs addiction, with an almost 10 minutes long impersonation of someone who was high and totally wasted. The audience became silent as a mouse. Most impressive part of the entire show.

Richard speaks out on ANYTHING. No taboos. He paved the road for standup comedy. What a brilliant comedy genius!!

Richard Pryor, who would have turned 71 today, was truly one of the comedy greats. "Richard Pryor...Here and Now" shows him performing in the Saenger Theater in New Orleans. He talks about a lot of the stuff on which he frequently focuses, and ends the concert with a gag that really made me crack up! The part where Pryor impersonates the Japanese was kind of racist, but other than that the concert was really good. Having survived the freebasing incident and gotten more sober, Pryor had apparently met some people whom he'd known while wasted, but now didn't recognize them! Anyway, it was always fun to see the guy doing what he did best. He will always be missed.