| TriStar Pictures | Release Date: May 12, 1989 | CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
4
Mixed:
7
Negative:
5
|
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Critic Reviews
Brisk, ingenious and funny comedy that happily reunites Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder. [12 May 1989, p.6]
It's the none too promising assumption of See No Evil, Hear No Evil that one physical disability complements another, and that Wally and Dave are made for each other. Yet, against all odds, the movie goes on to prove it with a lot of good, unlikely humor that is often not in the best of taste.Mr. Pryor and Mr. Wilder have never worked better together, possibly because they are playing characters who, being blind and deaf, are not especially funny to begin with, but who also have a certain amount of intelligence.
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When it sticks to its strengths - broad physical comedy, Pryor's poetic profanity, Wilder's finely tuned panic - See No Evil, Hear No Evil is a modestly amusing comedy. Were it not so concerned about Speaking No Evil, it might be a good deal more. [13 May 1989]
Not a great comedy, or even, much of the time, a very good one, but the few belly laughs and the relationship between the two stars make it worth seeing. [16 May 1989, p.4D]
If it weren't for the good will that the stars have built up over the years, See No Evil would pass without notice; even with the stars, that's what it deserves. But these are ingratiating performers, even when working far below their peak. Watching them, you find yourself wanting to laugh even when the laughs are undeserved.
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Trapped inside its overwritten crime story is a breezy character study starring two men with genuine chemistry and a flair for both physical and verbal comedy. In the rare moments when Pryor and Wilder simply talk to each other, there’s the potential for a funny and poignant interracial two-hander like I’m Not Rappaport. It’s too bad that potential is squandered on a senseless murder plot.
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See No Evil, Hear No Evil is a strange concoction - a bad taste comedy with a big, beating heart. [12 May 1989, p.B]
Arthur Hiller's direction is competent bordering on crisp. The language, as you would expect in a Richard Pryor movie, is pretty strong. [12 May 1989, p.6D]
The good idea: Richard Pryor plays a character who is blind, and Gene Wilder plays a character who is deaf, and once they become friends they make a great team. The possibilities for visual comedy with this idea are seemingly endless, but the movie chooses instead to plug the characters into a dumb plot about industrial espionage.
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A witless mess with more scriptwriters than laughs. [12 May 1989, p.46]
Pryor is so lacking in energy that Wilder steals most of the movie from him. For the first time in his career, Wilder actually seems robust, but it's only because he's performing opposite a ghost. It's quite sad. [12 May 1989, p.DW5]
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