Bustin' Loose (1981)

Director:

Oz Scott

Writers:

Lonne Elder III (adaptation)
Richard Pryor (story)

Release Date:

22 May 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

He's mad, he's bad, and he's Bustin' Loose!

Plot:

Joe Braxton is an ex-con who has been given a second chance to freedom after violating his probation...

Plot Keywords:

School | Bus | Farm | Teacher | Ex Convict

Cast

Richard Pryor	...	Joe Braxton
Cicely Tyson	...	Vivian Perry
Ángel Ramírez	...	Julio
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

Also Known As:

Family Dreams (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:15 | Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Ellensburg, Washington, USA

Company:

Richard Pryor Productions

Trivia:

During production of this film, Richard Pryor suffered serious injury when he accidentally set himself on fire in a drug-related mishap.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Joe Braxton is hanging on the side of the bus as it begins to go down the hill, you can clearly see the cable of his safety harness attached to the rail of the bus.

Quotes:

Joe Braxton: [yelling at the kids after they learned of the possible farm loss and are whining amongst themselves] Shut up!
Ernesto: [to Joe] Go take a hike!
Joe Braxton: [smacks him across the face hard enough to knock him down] Shut up!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sleaze (1982)

Soundtrack:

The Children's Song

Funny

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.