Is it true Bill Cosby thought the results of his scenes depicted such a negative racial stereotype that he tried to sue to have all his scenes removed from the final cut? I thought I heard something like that a while ago.
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I don't recall ever hearing such a story but I guess it's possible.
shareWhat part of the story or the characters indicated a particular bias or "racial stereotyping"? I believe both the male characters were successful doctors, well-spoken with attractive articulate wives. Their "suite" was definitely slap-stick and not my favorite (not a big fan of physical comedy) but I never thought it racist.
shareIn Cosby's plot thread, everyone was arguing and yelling at each other. Around the 1960s and 1970s, it was stereotypically and racially thought that blacks always bickering and fighting which is why black on black crime was ignored.
Any failure to ignore the trolls will only grant them the satisfaction they seek!
Au contraire! A few critics (P Kael for one) found the slapsticky segment offensive, especially since it was the only story that featured black actors - Cosby strongly defended the sketch, the physical comedy involved, and what was considered rather daring colorblind casting for the period - the play the film was taken from had no black actors in the original cast.
shareAlso, the original play featured only four actors -- two males, two females -- who played all the parts.
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Cosby and Pryor's scenes are the only ones that come anywhere near being funny. But, the slapstick falls flat, as does the attempted "humor" in the rest of the movie.
But, the fact that the only African-Americans in the movie end up doing the only slapstick doesn't exactly fend off any thoughts of racism! I guess someone like Simon didn't see African-Americans any differently than non-Hollywood types might.
I. Drink. Your. Milkshake! [slurp!] I DRINK IT UP! - Daniel Plainview - There Will Be Blood
I loved Pryor and Cosby here, thought this was the best, funniest scenes, besides Maggie and Caine.
shareCosby is possibly the least litigious person in Hollywood. I have found evidence of him being sued seven or eight times from the 1960s to 2005, before Andrea Constand sued him, but I could not find any instance of him suing anyone. People did all kinds of nasty things, for example, business partners who misused his money and Columbia Pictures which ruined the movie "Leonard Six." He just laughed it off and moved on.
The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion - Thomas Paine
I'm watching Richard Pryor on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson right now, from the late 70s I'm assuming, and he mentioned this movie and sketch, which is why I looked it up right now. :) He said the white critics were so offended, and he and Cosby thought the sketch was funny. He said in no way were he and Cosby offended by this sketch, they loved it. lol. So there. :)
shareThanks, this is good to know.
I didn't like the Cosby-Pryor sequence, but I didn't like the whole movie. I thought it was a terrible waste of great talent. I thought that it was Neil Simon's least funny play. Simon's best plays as exemplified in "Barefoot in the Park," "the Odd Couple" "Prisoner of Second Avenue" and "the Out-of-Towners" build comic momentum gradually. His second, third, and fourth acts get funnier and funnier. Here, he has nothing but first acts followed by quick fifth acts.
I'm sure Cosby and Pryor enjoyed working with each other for the week they were together doing this film. However, it is still a disappointment if you are fans of both these men to see how little they were allowed to do together.
Imagine what a classic they would have produced working together on a whole movie.
The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion - Thomas Paine