| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Richard Pryor | ... | Joe Braxton | |
| 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 | ... | Doctor Wilson T. Renfrew | |
| Bill Quinn | ... | Judge Antonio Runzuli | |
| Roy Jenson | ... | Klan Leader | |
|
|
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>
Bustin' Loose (1981)
*** (out of 4)
Richard Pryor plays a con man who is blackmailed by his probation officer into taking eight troubled kids on a bus trip from Philadelphia to Seattle. Having been made in a politically incorrect time and featuring Pryor with troubled kids means you're going to have a great load of laughs but the film also has a heart of gold but more on this in a bit. As for pure laughs this is probably the best film I've seen from Pryor, although Moving is still my favorite movie of his due to it just being a personal favorite. This movie here features non-stop laughs from start to finish and it really gives Pryor a chance to act and he proves to be very reliable here. Pryor does a great job with the comedy and really delivers the jokes but what's most refreshing is seeing how well he does with the more dramatic moments. The film has a heart of gold but I think there are a few too many tender scenes meant to make the viewer get tears in their eyes. A lot of these dramatic scenes are pretty heartfelt but I think there are just too many of them. Pryor handles all of this very well though. Cicely Tyson plays the woman trying to save the kids and she's does a good job, although the romantic subplot with Pryor is pretty weak. There are numerous great scenes in the film including a great sequence where Pryor runs into the KKK but the highlight of the movie is certainly the scene where Pryor is driving the bus and three of the kids, acting like thugs, come up and start messing with him.