DAY 30: ‘80s Comedy!

Sometimes, the chemistry between two legends is enough to carry a movie. See No Evil, Hear No Evil is the definition of that sentence: a high-concept, low-brow collision that remains a mandatory watch for anyone obsessed with the glory days of the Pryor and Wilder pairing.

Directed by Arthur Hiller, this was the third of four collaborations between comedy titans Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. It’s a classic odd-couple setup: Dave (Wilder) is deaf, and Wally (Pryor) is blind. They become an unlikely team when they witness a murder in Dave’s newsstand. Wally hears the shot, Dave sees the killer’s shapely legs, and what follows is a frantic, slapstick-heavy chase through NYC and New Jersey involving a stolen gold coin, a secret superconductor and a whole lot of hijinks, as they say.

The cast is a weird, wonderful mix of genre staples. You’ve got Joan Severance, who had the perfect cold, calculated look for the villainous Eve (and thiose gorgeous gams that Dave notices) and a young Kevin Spacey is in full “goon” mode as Kirgo, long before he hit A-list status. Look for the legendary Anthony Zerbe—a guy who has been in everything from The Omega Man to License to Kill—playing the blind villain, Sutherland. 

The production was a legal mess before a camera even rolled. Joseph Bologna and Renée Taylor (who wrote Lovers and Other Strangers) sold the script in 1984 but later sued Columbia Pictures for a massive payout after being cut out of the rewrite process. Before Wilder was cast, the studio considered Jim Belushi for the role of the deaf store owner. That would have been an entirely different—and significantly less charming—kind of movie.

While the critics at the time—including Roger Ebert—hated it, calling it a “dud,” the audience didn’t care. It sat at number one at the box office for two weeks. My wife absolutely adores this movie, and we watch it at least twice a year.

There is one really good thing that came out of this: Wilder attended the NY League for the Hard of Hearing to prepare for his role. He worked with speech pathologist Karen Webb, who would become his fourth wife. That’s good luck, as he’d already turned down the movie twice, as he was worried the film would mock people with disabilities. He changed his mind when, during his research and meetings with real deaf people, he was told, “People with handicaps do have a sense of humor.” 

Writers Earl Barret and Arne Sultan created Too Close for Comfort, so from all the Cosmic Cow fans, thank you.