Bustin’ Loose (1981)

It was somewhat dispiriting to see the no-punches-pulled, hard-hitting comedian Richard Pryor lending his abrasive personality to a film as marshmallow gooey as Bustin’ Loose.

Not only was it a Richard Pryor production, but Pryor also provided the soft-centred story.

The movie revolved around Pryor as a habitual thief who, while out on probation for attempting to steal a truck-load of TV sets, is persuaded by his girlfriend (Cicely Tyson) to drive a bus full of handicapped and maladjusted school children from the city to a farm in the country.

Its saccharine content made it a decidedly sticky journey to tolerate. En route to the country, the seemingly hard-hearted Pryor is completely won over by the kids, and, by the end of the picture, he is pretty much a reformed man. Yuck.

The best thing in the movie was the kids themselves, including Angel Ramirez, Jimmy Hughes, Edwin DeLeon, Edwin Kinter, Tami Luchow, Janet Wong, Alphonso Alexander and Kia Cooper.

Joe Braxton
Richard Pryor
Vivian Perry
Cicely Tyson
Julio 
Angel Ramirez Jr.
Harold
Jimmy Hughes
Ernesto
Edwin DeLeon
Anthony
Edwin Kinter
Linda
Tami Luchow
Annie
Janet Wong
Martin
Alphonso Alexander
Samantha
Kia Cooper
Donald
Robert Christian
Doctor Wilson T. Renfrew
George Coe
Judge Antonio Renzulli
Bill Quinn
Alfred Schuyler
Fred Carney
Klan Leader
Roy Jenson

Director
Oz Scott