The Toy (1982)

The Toy

When I was a kid I loved the movie The Toy. In this movie Richard Pryor is a toy for a rich man's (Jackie Gleason) son. I think what I enjoyed best as a child is seeing all the toys the kid had, and I thought it would be awesome to hand out with the guy from Superman 2. Out of Richard Pryor movies that I enjoy as an adult this isn't at the top of my list. Don't get me wrong I still enjoy it, but I prefer Brewster's Millions more.

I can say that this is a movie you should share with your pre-teen child. If they enjoy it as much as I did it would be a nice change of pace for viewing with them. You can watch along with them, they might not get all of the humor, but that's for you to enjoy. It's a movie that is actually takes a teenager to fully understand, but once again an enjoyment for a pre-teen to watch September 4, 2008

Buy A Man?

Well, this is suppose to be silly because it is a comedy. But come on. Alright ,maybe there are some funny parts to this film. But basically what we have here is, a black man is paid to play with a young boy. They end up bathing together. groovy December 29, 2007

The Toy

One of Richard Pryors' funniest movies, I really like "The Toy". The quality of the movie is great. Thank You. August 23, 2007

How do I love this film?

Let me count the ways.

1. They actually make a movie where a rich white kid buys a black man for a toy.
2. They call the kid Master Bates.
3. The kid now does adult films.

This is one of the greatest comedies of all time. All that separates this from being one of the top three movies of all time is if they added a scene with Richard Pryor eating a bucket of chicken while the kid has intercourse with an adult film star while wearing a KKK outfit. October 26, 2006

No tomorrow. No next week. No next month. No next year. Get The Toy today!

In the early 80's, controversial African American comedian Richard Pryor (See No Evil Hear No Evil) was in top form. He was the most influential and electrifying stand-up comic, and one of the highest paid black actors in Hollywood (Pryor was reportedly paid $4,000,000 to appear in 1983's Superman III).

In 1982, Pryor agreed to star opposite the legendary Honeymooners star Jackie Gleason (Smokey And The Bandit), in a remake of a 1976 French film titled Le Jouet, which literally means The Toy in english. The outcome was a classic comedy, although hated by many critics, that is still enjoyed and quoted by people today.

The Toy is directed by Richard Donner (Superman), and also stars Ned Beatty (Superman), Wilfrid Hyde-White (My Fair Lady), Teresa Ganzel (Monsters Inc), and child actor Scott Schwartz (Kidco).

Pryor plays Jack Brown, a struggling and unemployed black writer who will lose his house if he fails to pay $10,000 to pay off his mortgage. Jack finds himself stooping down the social ladder trying to get any job he can get in order to save himself from getting thrown into the street. He finds a job as a cleaning lady for the Bates firm and is hired by Mr. Morehouse, played by Beatty. When local millionaire US Bates, played by Gleason, finds out that one of his cleaning ladies has a moustache, he fires him. To make matters worse, Bates's spoiled little bratty son 'master' Eric Bates, played by Schwartz, arrives in town for a week with his dad, goes to his dad's toy store, and picks out Jack as his toy because he made him laugh. Eric's insistence on keeping Jack and his dad's pampering reults in US negotiating a deal with Jack on the basis that he stays for a week at his mansion to keep his son company. US and Jack go on a collision course over different issues: the amount that Jack needs, US's degrading and racist new wife Fancy Bates, played by Ganzel, and most of all, what the film really focuses on, is how to approach and win over his son.

The Toy is a delightful movie despite what many regard it as being Pryor's and Gleason's low points. In fact, The Toy is one of the funniest films and an excellent pairing for both actors.

Recommended

A May 16, 2006

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