Review of Which Way Is Up?

Introduction

`Which Way Is Up?`, despite the fact you`ve probably never heard of it, is not an early Richard Pryor film. In actuality, it was released the year after 1976 box-office smash `Silver Streak`, in which Pryor finally made his mark on movie audiences after establishing himself as the founder of modern black stand-up, his routines frequently hinging on race relations, drugs and street culture; the progenitor to the likes of Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock. In `Which Way is Up?`, Pryor is cast in three distinct roles, again, a forerunner to the likes of modern single actor/multiple-role films like `The Nutty Professor`. Yes, Eddie Murphy really should be paying royalties to the Pryor estate.

In his central role, Pryor plays Leroy, a farmhand on a large orange grove where he works with his family, including his wife and his grumpy father Rufus (Richard Pryor). When he falls foul of his employers by inadvertently joining a workers union, he`s forced to move to the city and start a new life. He meets Vanetta (Lonette McKee), a union organiser and starts a new family with her. But when he accidentally comes to the aid of the agricultural empire he used to work for, he`s rewarded and sent back to his former life as company man. But now with two wives and two families, he has to play a delicate balancing act between the two. It`s then he discovers local reverend Lenox Thomas (Richard Pryor) has gotten his first wife pregnant, so decides to get even the only way he knows how.

The film is actually based on the script of Lina Wertmüller`s 1972 Italian film `The Seduction of Mimi`.

Video

The DVD has been minted from a decent stock - something of a rarity for obscure 70s films - although there are some visible dirt and scratches, albeit mostly contained to the opening credits. The anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer does appear a little overly dark at times which can obscure detail, with higher than the norm colour saturation throughout.

Audio

Standard DD 2.0 stereo mix, which sounds fine with no drop-out, although the music does come across a little tinny at times, although I suspect this is an issue with the master as opposed to the DVD.

Budget DVD, so no subtitles whatsoever.

Features

Just cast & crew biographies, film notes and a photo gallery. I swear, DVD extras are cyclical and we`re currently back around 1999.

Conclusion

It may be a cult favourite among Richard Pryor fans - as the DVD cover so proudly boasts - but `Which Way Is Up?` isn`t one of the comic`s finest moments. Pryor made his name as one of the greats of American stand-up, and as one half of a movie double act with Gene Wilder throughout several films in the 70s and 80s, and it`s for these that he cast his legacy, not disappointing, lame duck in-betweeners like this. While Pryor himself is more than capable of twisting something out of the rather rigid material, it proves to be little to make the film more than a 90-minute distraction. Which is 40-minutes shorter than `Superman III`.

The main thing here is that it`s just not that funny, despite falling into the farce genre. While it has a few moments - like when Leroy`s former frigid-turned-vixen woman back home tries to seduce him - for the most part, it plays out too straight to be anything other than mildly amusing at the best of times, and even those occasions of humour seem to be spaced painfully apart across its running time. And its not like the plot doesn`t give way to an opportunity for some hilarious hijinks; despite being a re-write of an Italian tragicomedy, many of the plot developments fall right into the hands of a capable comic like Pryor, but they just don`t fizzle. There`s a reason why, unlike `Which Way is Up?`, farces like `See No Evil, Hear No Evil`, `Stir Crazy` and `Brewster`s Millions` have been out on DVD for a while. They`re in another league altogether.