Critical Condition

1987
R
1h 37m

IMDb RATING

5.3/10

YOUR RATING

Richard Pryor in Critical Condition (1987)

Con man Kevin Lennihan, framed in a jewel smuggling, tries for an insanity plea, and is sent to a hospital for review, where he is confused for a doctor and takes over the hospital when a major storm hits.

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Comedy

Con man Kevin Lennihan, framed in a jewel smuggling, tries for an insanity plea, and is sent to a hospital for review, where he is confused for a doctor and takes over the hospital when a ma... Read allCon man Kevin Lennihan, framed in a jewel smuggling, tries for an insanity plea, and is sent to a hospital for review, where he is confused for a doctor and takes over the hospital when a major storm hits.Con man Kevin Lennihan, framed in a jewel smuggling, tries for an insanity plea, and is sent to a hospital for review, where he is confused for a doctor and takes over the hospital when a major storm hits.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.3/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Richard Pryor improvised all of his lines in the courtroom scene.

Goofs
Box opens the garage door, yells about his dog being kicked. However, Stuckey kicks the patient who thinks he's a dog several seconds before Box actually opens the garage door. There is no way that Box could have seen Stucky kick the dog.

Quotes
[last lines]
Kevin: Eight hours ago I was lunatic at the state asylum. Right? Now I gotta a yacht, I met a nice lady. I'm proud to be an American.

Alternate versions
A slightly different intro was filmed for the TV version. In the original theatrical release, Richard Pryor is seen meeting the loan shark in a sex shop. But the TV version has the meeting in an old warehouse. In addition, the TV version tones down some of Richard Pryor's language, and has a slightly different end credits sequence showing the main characters as their names are displayed in the credits list. The theatrical version just had standard titles over a black background.

Connections
Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Richard Pryor/Sean Penn/Kenny G (1986)

Soundtracks
THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES
from "DIE WALKURE"
Written by Richard Wagner
Performed by the Wiener Philharmoniker (as the Vienna Philharmonic)
Conducted by Sir Georg Solti
Courtesy of London Records
A Division of PolyGram Classics, Inc.

User reviews16

Review

Featured review

6/10

One Flew Into The Cuckoo's Nest

Confidence man Richard Pryor is caught with dangerous racketeers and is found guilty of the same crimes. To delay, he pretends to be crazy. He is sent to the psychiatric ward of a hospital for appraisal. While he is trying to escape, a storm strikes, the hospital is cut off from the mainland, and the power goes. Because he is wearing a lab coat, people think he is a doctor and look to him to take charge.

It's not the best comedy Pryor ever starred in, nor anywhere near the best movie Michael Apted directed.. He didn't write the script and has only one scene of wild improvization. Nonetheless, the role is a good fit for him and despite the foreordained ending, there are good moments. Bob Dishy is excellent as a surgeon who starts out thinking of nothing but legal liability. Bob Saget is very good as a resident lacking all self confidence, and Wesley Snipes can be spotted in an early, tiny role.