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IMDbPro

Bustin' Loose

  • 19811981
  • RR
  • 1h 34m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
14,003
7,994
Bustin' Loose (1981)
Watch Trailer
Play trailer1:30
2 Videos
32 Photos
ComedyDrama
Failed parolee Joe Braxton has one last shot at redemption: by driving school kids to Philadelphia.Failed parolee Joe Braxton has one last shot at redemption: by driving school kids to Philadelphia.Failed parolee Joe Braxton has one last shot at redemption: by driving school kids to Philadelphia.
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
14,003
7,994
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Directors
      • Oz Scott
      • Michael Schultz(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • Lonne Elder III(adaptation by)
      • Richard Pryor(story by)
      • Roger L. Simon(screenplay by)
    • Stars
      • Richard Pryor
      • Cicely Tyson
      • Angel Ramirez Jr.
    Top credits
    • Directors
      • Oz Scott
      • Michael Schultz(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • Lonne Elder III(adaptation by)
      • Richard Pryor(story by)
      • Roger L. Simon(screenplay by)
    • Stars
      • Richard Pryor
      • Cicely Tyson
      • Angel Ramirez Jr.
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 18User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
    • 55Metascore
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations

    Videos2

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:30
    Trailer
    Sneak Previews Season 3 Episode 30
    Video 28:41
    Sneak Previews Season 3 Episode 30

    Photos32

    Richard Pryor, portrait from "Bustin' Loose," 1981. Silver gelatin, printed later, 11x14, matted on 16x20 board, signed. $700 © 1978 Bud Gray MPTV
    Bustin' Loose (1981)
    Bustin' Loose (1981)
    Bustin' Loose (1981)
    Cicely Tyson in Bustin' Loose (1981)
    Richard Pryor and Robert Christian in Bustin' Loose (1981)
    Richard Pryor and Cicely Tyson in Bustin' Loose (1981)
    Richard Pryor in Bustin' Loose (1981)
    Alphonso Alexander, Kia Cooper, Edwin DeLeon, Jimmy Hughes, Edwin Kinter, Tami Luchow, Angel Ramirez Jr., and Janet Wong in Bustin' Loose (1981)
    Richard Pryor and Cicely Tyson in Bustin' Loose (1981)
    Richard Pryor in Bustin' Loose (1981)
    Richard Pryor in Bustin' Loose (1981)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Pryor
    Richard Pryor
    • Joe Braxton
    Cicely Tyson
    Cicely Tyson
    • Vivian Perry
    Angel Ramirez Jr.
    • Julio
    • (as Ángel Ramírez)
    Jimmy Hughes
    • Harold
    Edwin DeLeon
    • Ernesto
    Edwin Kinter
    • Anthony
    Tami Luchow
    • Linda
    Janet Wong
    • Annie
    Alphonso Alexander
    • Martin
    Kia Cooper
    • Samantha
    Robert Christian
    • Donald
    George Coe
    George Coe
    • Doctor Wilson T. Renfrew
    Bill Quinn
    Bill Quinn
    • Judge Antonio Runzuli
    Roy Jenson
    Roy Jenson
    • Klan Leader
    Fred Carney
    • Alfred Schuyler
    Peggy McCay
    Peggy McCay
    • Gladys Schuyler
    Luke Andreas
    • Loader
    Earl Billings
    Earl Billings
    • Man at Parole Office
    • Directors
      • Oz Scott
      • Michael Schultz(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • Lonne Elder III(adaptation by)
      • Richard Pryor(story by)
      • Roger L. Simon(screenplay by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      According to DVD Talk, "The film sat around gathering dust, until Stir Crazy (1980) came out, made a ton of cash, and prompted the producers to re-shoot sequences and release the film. The end result is a film that was produced before and after Pryor's suicide by fire attempt (you can see a physical difference during certain parts of the movie)."
    • Goofs
      In several shots during the movie, the actors appear in the red interior of the probation officer's Cadillac Seville. At the end of the movie they flip flop back and forth between a car with red interior and a car with white interior. (Very obviously when Richard Pryor opens the door while sitting in car it is red, when he gets out it's white.)
    • Quotes

      Samantha: [Samantha has been banging on the window to get a sleeping Joe's attention] Linda's got the bathroom locked up and Dakota has to go pee.

      Joe Braxton: [Groggily] Yeah. Right.

      Samantha: [Bangs on window] Mr. Braxton, wake up!

      Joe Braxton: Take her to the bathroom in the woods. Bears pee in the woods.

      Samantha: I'm not going into the woods. There's snakes in the woods!

      Joe Braxton: Good. That's wonderful.

      [Samantha bangs on the window, again]

      Joe Braxton: What?

      Samantha: Dakota has to go pee!

      Joe Braxton: Let the bear pee in your pocket! Leave me alone!

      [Samantha bangs on the bus window again]

      Joe Braxton: Okay! Okay! You, me, and Dakota. We go pee.

    • Alternate versions
      A few deleted scenes appeared on some TV versions, including a sequence where Joe and Marvin try to escape the warehouse, at the beginning.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Richard Pryor/George Carlin (1981)
    • Soundtracks
      Just When I Needed You
      Written by Roberta Flack & Eric Mercury

      Performed by Roberta Flack with Luther Vandross

    User reviews18

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Still a Lovable Film!
    Let's face it, Cicely Tyson and Richard Pryor play an unlikely pair. Cicely plays a good-hearted social worker who is determined to transport a school bus-load of abandoned orphans across the country to a farm with animals. She gets Richard Pryor's character who plays an ex-con who redeems himself in this film. Of course, Tyson and Pryor are quite simply marvelous in roles that would have otherwise failed. I know if I wanted somebody that would be Cicely who plays Vivian Perry whose heart and mind are always in the right place. While Pryor's character feels like a failure, she and the kids inspire him as well he inspires them. It's not a wholesome after-school special but it's touching at moments to see the outcasts look and treat upon each other as friends and family because they could have treated this film like silly film but it's a serious film about serious problems and they do it admirably.
    helpful•4
    1
    • Sylviastel
    • Apr 30, 2007

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 22, 1981 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Family Dream
    • Filming locations
      • Ellensburg, Washington, USA
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $11,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $31,261,269
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $6,622,753
      • May 25, 1981
    • Gross worldwide
      • $31,261,269
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 34 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

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