See No Evil, Hear No Evil ** (1989, Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, Joan Severance) – Classic Movie Review 4826

The brilliantly talented funnymen movie star partners Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor are re-teamed for director Arthur Hiller’s wacky 1989 comedy thriller about a deaf man, Dave (Wilder), and a blind man, Wally (Pryor), who witness a killing.

They are mistaken for the murderers and go on the run from the police to catch the real killers. Most of the fun comes from the skill of the performers, and it is a tribute to their comedic and acting talents that a lot of the film is fairly funny and reasonably exciting, despite a feeble script that regularly lets them down.

Though there are quite a few laughs to be found, the jokes vary from the blindingly obvious to the deafeningly obvious. The five credited writers, Earl Barret, Arne Sultan, Eliot Wald, Andrew Kurtzman and Gene Wilder himself, are to blame for the movie’s shortcomings.

There is an early role for Kevin Spacey (already 30) as Kirgo and good villainy from Anthony Zerbe as Sutherland. Also in the cast are Joan Severance, Alan North, Anthony Zerbe, Louis Giambalvo, Kristen Childs, Hardy Rawls, Audrie J Neenan, Lauren Tom, John Capodice, Alexandra Neil and Bill Luhrs.

It was the US number one movie for two weeks, but its $47 million gross there is less than half that of Wilder and Pryor’s Stir Crazy (1980).

Gene Wilder died of complications from Alzheimer’s on 29 August 2016, aged 83.

Arthur Hiller died on 17 August 2016, aged 92. He also directed Wilder and Pryor in Silver Streak (1976).

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4826

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