Another You

Some ideas are doomed from the start. Garth Brooks' weird Chris Gaines experiment. The Flash. Heil Honey, I'm Home (look it up). All of these are perfect examples of media ideas someone should've killed before ground was ever broken. Another You is one of those. Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder had paired in three movies before this, all with box office success, even if critical response (and lasting cultural impact) waned as they went along. But Another You is different. This was born dead, and all the signs were there for anybody to see how it would come out. In one corner, you have Richard Pryor, who had been diagnosed with MS five years prior. It was clear by this point the disease had taken its toll, and Pryor was not up to the rigors of performing. Though he is credited as a co-lead, he is anything but, having less than half the dialogue of Wilder, most of his scenes involving him doing minimal physical movement, and wearing a loose padded suit to cover his gaunt frame. Pryor's trademark electricity is entirely absent here. He is reduced to short lines, the occasional profanity, and everybody having to work around him. In another corner, you have Gene Wilder. He was coming off a string of box office flops, and was only a couple years removed from the death of his wife, Gilda Radner. The weight of the career disappointments and mourning of Radner hang over his performance here, as Wilder somehow both goes over the top in a desperate attempt to come off like his old self, while also being passionless and lacking any energy whatsoever. It feels like Wilder was doing an impersonation of himself. Combining these two -- a performer incapable of performing up to his previous levels, and a performer whose heart clearly isn't in it -- highlights the shortcomings rather than making up for them. Wilder has to act as both the funny guy and the straight man, while Pryor mostly stands (or sits) there, unable to contribute beyond the bare minimum. It's like watching a band perform decades after their glory days; they play the hits, they go through all the familiar antics, but there's a spark missing. It isn't coming from a natural place within them; it's mimicry, a sad, flailing attempt to deliver what they think the audience expects. But wait, there's more! How about a director change mid-filming that results in five weeks of shooting footage discarded, resulting in re-shoots that re-contextualize the film's location? You can almost feel it in the performances. Everything comes off heavy and half-hearted, because they're doing it all again. How about a comedy filled with more story and more plot twists than a Christopher Nolan movie? I cannot think of a comedy that is more overstuffed with plot, suffocating any opportunity for actual humor outside of Wilder trying to generate them himself with his histrionic line readings. And the movie overall has an unpleasant, mean-spirited air to it. Everybody is either a buffoon or a scheming jerk. Mercedes Ruehl, in her first role since winning a Tony and an Oscar, has a role that could be summed up on flash cards. In one scene, she's a sexpot, in another, she's a liar, in the next, she's a nag. But at least it's more than Vanessa Williams gets, who seems to be there for Pryor and the audience to ogle. If you're looking for positives ... ummm ... the score is kinda funky? And Pryor's profanity-laced tirade at the Tri-Star unicorn is so out-of-left-field, it's kind of amusing. End of list. Another You never should've gotten off the ground. This idea was snake-bit from day one, and it shows in the final product. Even if it didn't have two leads battling depression or health issues, it would still be an ugly, unfunny, convoluted mess of a movie. But taking that script and asking two actors to prop it up who were in no shape mentally or physically to do so is a crime. An insult. An undeserved stain on the legacies of two comedic titans. That this would be Pryor's final lead role, and Wilder's final on-screen film role, is just pissing on the proverbial graves. There's a reason their other three films are remembered and this one is a forgotten epilogue. Do yourself a favor and keep it that way.