Moving
Dir: Alan Metter
1988
**
I so wanted to love 1988's Moving. Surely anything staring the great Richard Pryor is brilliant no? No, not everything. Pryor is the best thing about moving but it is obvious his heart isn't in it, the physical comedy he was so good at just isn't there but his dead-pan responses let you know it's still him, albeit only just. There are some great lines; when house hunting, Arlo (Pryor) and his Wife (Beverly Todd) come across a garish house full of nude statues, owned by a rather flamboyant gentleman. When the flamboyant owner comments that they may choose to decorate differently, Pryor responds that they'd probably have statues too but theirs would have much bigger penises. It's a bit random and takes one by surprise considering it is billed as a family film, making it, along with a few similar scenes, the highlights of the production. Rodney Dangerfield's brief cameo is also a particular highlight. Overall though, Randy Quaid's annoying neighbor, Dana Carvey's Schizophrenic driver and the three ex-convict removal men make this a typically silly and not very funny 80's comedy. The subtle moments worked really well, they're just overshadowed with the decade's preoccupation with the absurd - not always a bad thing but then there is no such thing a mediocre 80's comedy, they are either brilliant or they're just not funny. Moving isn't brilliant.