Stir Crazy (1980)
Directed by Sidney Poitier
New Yorkers Skip Donahue and Harry Monroe have no jobs and no prospects, so they decide to flee the city and find work elsewhere, landing jobs wearing woodpecker costumes to promote the opening of a bank. When their feathery costumes are stolen and used in a bank robbery, they no longer have to worry about employment — they're sent to prison.
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What critics compared Stir Crazy to
I certainly wouldn't hold up 'Stir Crazy' as a comedy masterpiece, but there are scenes in it I remember after 18 years -- Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder's famous "We bad" entrance; Wilder spending a stretch in the hole, then being disappointed upon getting let out ("I was just beginning to find myself"); a bald, fearsome, gargantuan convict starting to sing in a soft, high, lovely voice.
While most are dramatic -- think of Paul Newman in "Cool Hand Luke" and Clint Eastwood in "Escape From Alcatraz" -- some of have been funny -- such as "Stir Crazy" (Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor) and "The Longest Yard" (Burt Reynolds) -- while others are nothing short of outstanding -- such as "Papillon" (Steve McQueen) and the incomparable "The Shawshank Redemption" (Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman).
He joins giants like Richard Pryor in that no matter what you thought of Stir Crazy, it's a far cry from his seminal work on stage.