Richard Pryor spent half a decade as a POW in Vietnam. Now he's back in the US, and he's a hero. Except that his wife has walked out on him, his mother is in a nursing home and they want more money, the Army is taking its time on anything except for using him in press conferences and the bank he asks for a loan won't grant it. The only person willing to actually help is Margot Kidder, a high-class call girl, and he names her profession baldly.

Watching Pryor in a straight role is interesting. He plays the same sort of character he does in his comedies, hapless and out of his depth, but without the air of hysteria that informs his comedy. The result is a telling satire of the growing disconnect between the promise of America and the reality.

This is definitely one of Pryor's better performances. Maybe not his funniest but on the drama side of things the movie is thoughtful and touching at times because of his performance, and he's still funny when he needs to be. The director/writer I think overreaches in the end but this is definitely worth watching for Pryor's performance if nothing else.

Richard Pryor is the reason to see this movie. He takes a somewhat ordinary story, of a soldier who returns home from a Vietnam POW camp, to a less than welcome home, and makes it a better movie. His trying to look tough and menacing, and acting it out in front of a mirror, is really good ("Freeze, sucka! Get DOWN!!"),and then having all his efforts totally evaporate at the bank! A welcome movie to see, I recommend it. 7/10