TheRetroCritic

I review Stephen King's Thinner , a requested vlog on Patreon .

Richard Pryor stars in Critical Condition , a comedy from 1987 in which he plays Eddie, a man arrested following a run-in with some dodgy characters who attempts to fake an insanity plea in order to stay out of prison. As a storm hits the hospital he'd been transferred to, the power goes out and he has to pretend to be a doctor in order to escape. Unfortunately, he soon finds he can't go anywhere while the storm is going on and is forced to really try being a doctor until it clears up, which obviously proves hit-and-miss, to say the least. Like with Brewster's Millions , Pryor is provided with a funny, simple concept and he makes the most of it. As both Eddie and his alter-ego Dr Kevin Slattery, Pryor does a great job in his usual off-beat way, throwing funny lines effortlessly and stumbling wide-eyed through difficult situations. The film is not a laugh riot throughout but the characters and scenarios are random and likable enough to keep you entertained. There'

Tom Hanks and Shelley Long star in The Money Pit , a Steven Spielberg-produced comedy from 1986. The film sees a couple get a good deal on a house before realising it's literally falling apart. Much like their relationship, the house is slowly but surely collapsing but it's also being renovated and while this metaphor isn't too subtle it completely works here. The plot may not sound all that appealing but the film itself is a lot of fun as the ridiculously precarious house leads to some genuinely funny slapstick moments. Highlights include a long stretch during which Hanks is literally stuck in-between floors, the hilarious sudden breakdown of what seemed like a perfectly usable kitchen, some paint-induced catastrophe on scaffolding and Hanks' priceless reaction to a bathtub bursting through down to another floor. The Money Pit does feel like an old-fashioned screwball comedy crossed with wacky antics the likes of Charlie Chaplin or Laurel & Hardy would have