Michael McKean draws on his 231 acting credits to share his best Hollywood stories as he plays our game of "Role the Dice."
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Title: Bustin' Loose (1981)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Richard Pryor | ... | Joe Braxton | |
| Cicely Tyson | ... | Vivian Perry | |
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Angel Ramirez Jr. | ... | Julio (as Ángel Ramírez) |
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Jimmy Hughes | ... | Harold |
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Edwin DeLeon | ... | Ernesto |
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Edwin Kinter | ... | Anthony |
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Tami Luchow | ... | Linda |
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Janet Wong | ... | Annie |
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Alphonso Alexander | ... | Martin |
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Kia Cooper | ... | Samantha |
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Robert Christian | ... | Donald |
| George Coe | ... | Doctor Wilson T. Renfrew | |
| Bill Quinn | ... | Judge Antonio Runzuli | |
| Roy Jenson | ... | Klan Leader | |
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Fred Carney | ... | Alfred Schuyler |
Joe Braxton is an ex-con who has been given a second chance to freedom after violating his probation. He has been hired by a school teacher named Vivian Perry to repair and drive an old school bus and drive a group of Special kids to Ms. Perry's Washington Farm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to give them a new home after The Clarmont Center for Children is shut down by the city. The kids have severe mental problems and Joe is not looking forward to the trip at all, but Joe later bonds with Vivian and the children, offering his support and love and changes his outlook on life. But Donald, the social worker and Vivian's lover who gave Joe his break is hot on their tail and wants Joe back in prison. Joe and Vivian must now prevent Donald from sending the children back to Philadelphia, where they'll have no future. Written by Geoffrey A. Middleton <gamidd01@morehead-st.edu>
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In reviewing African-Americans in film in chronological order for Black History Month, we're now at 1981 with Bustin' Loose. In this one, Richard Pryor is a small-time crook who gets a chance at redemption when his parole officer asks him to drive a bus of troubled children and his fiancée (Cicely Tyson) across country from Philadelphia to Seattle on the way to Tyson's family farm. That obviously doesn't sound like a hilarious comedy and there are indeed some scenes Pryor has with some of the kids that expresses more of his dramatic abilities, as heartfelt as some of those scenes may be. There's still some of his unique comic talents here that may make you glad you gave this one a shot like his attempted con of several TV sets in a bogus delivery truck or his fooling the Ku Klux Klan into pushing the bus out of a mud-hole because they think all the kids in it are blind! Then there's his cowboy disguise with fake accent near the end that made me laugh pretty hard. Ms. Tyson, normally a dramatic actress, has a few humorous moments of her own that puts her in a new light. Threatens to lose steam after a while but all in all, Bustin' Loose is nothing Mr. Pryor had to be ashamed about especially since he thought up the story and was co-producer. P.S. It was here that he set himself on fire when he freebased on cocaine.