''Moving'' is a 1988 American
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
starring
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...
as Arlo Pear, a father moving his family cross-country.
Other notable appearances in the film include
Randy Quaid
Randy Randall Rudy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor known for his roles in both serious drama and light comedy.
He was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role in ''The Last Detail'' i ...
as an annoying neighbor,
Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his seven seasons as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1993, which earned him fiv ...
as a man with
multiple personalities
Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states.
The di ...
hired to drive Pryor's car,
Rodney Dangerfield
Rodney Dangerfield (born Jacob Rodney Cohen; November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He was known for his self-deprecating one-liner humor, his catchphrase "I don't get no resp ...
as an embezzling loan officer, musician
Morris Day
Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.
Music career
Morris Day is best known as the lead singer of The Time, a group associated with Prince. Day and Pri ...
, and
WWF wrestler
King Kong Bundy
Christopher Alan Pallies (November 7, 1955 – March 5, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, actor and stand-up comedian, better known by his wrestling gimmick and ring name, King Kong Bundy. Under this gimmick, he portrayed a pugnacious, ...
as a monstrous mover. The film also stars
Stacey Dash
Stacey Lauretta Dash (born January 20, 1967) is an American actress. Dash played Dionne Marie Davenport in the 1995 feature film '' Clueless'' and its television series of the same name. She has also appeared in the films '' Moving'', '' Mo' Mo ...
as Arlo's daughter Casey, and
Leslie Jordan
Leslie Allen Jordan (April 29, 1955 – October 24, 2022) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and singer. His television roles include Beverley Leslie on ''Will & Grace'' (2001–2006 and 2017–2020), several characters on television in ...
in his film debut.
Plot
Arlo Pear (Pryor) is a transportation engineer living in the
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
suburbs. One day he goes to work and meets a new female co-worker, and when both of them attempt to enter their keys in the same office doorknob, Arlo guesses what has happened and confronts his boss, Roy Hendersen. He learns that his company has merged with another, and now Arlo is out of a job. He ends the meeting by telling off his boss and in his state of anger, he flips Roy off using his index finger.
Arlo's wife Monica tries to defuse the situation by telling her husband that she can get him a job at her father's
mustard
Mustard may refer to:
Food and plants
* Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment
* Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment
** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
plant, at least until something better comes along. Knowing a job in his own field would better suit him, Arlo refuses. His attempts to find work are futile until he receives a phone call from another engineering firm, due to Roy's influence. The firm all but hires him over the phone, and Arlo is excited – until he finds out that his new job will be in
Boise, Idaho
Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...
. With some hesitation, Arlo takes the job.
Arlo breaks the news to his family first over dinner by telling them he has a new job, but holds off on telling them of the move until towards the end of the conversation, prompting angry responses from both his wife and his daughter Casey. The family uses a "
swear jar" to collect cash penalties for the use of obscenities in the house, and Casey puts cash in the jar as she makes her feelings known. Shortly afterwards, Monica retrieves her purse and withdraws a large sum of cash, ordering their twin sons Randy and Marshall to leave the room, implying that her own use of profanity will cost her dearly.
However, Monica calms down later that evening and agrees to the move, but Casey is much less willing to concede, even going so far as to sabotage their attempts to sell their home. Casey relents after offering her parents a solution: she will agree to the move if they let her finish out the school year and graduate at her present school. They agree, the house sells, and they make arrangements for her to stay with family friends until then.
Monica and Arlo find a suitable house owned by retirees in Boise and agree to buy it, even though the retirees jest with the Pears that they are "taking everything with us", when referring to the appliances and fixtures in the house. They hire a moving company, but find the moving team shady and decide to go with another company. To their surprise, the same shady movers from the first company show up, revealing to the Pears that they now work for the second company. They hire the initially squeaky-clean Brad Williams to drive Arlo's black
Saab 900
The Saab 900 is a mid-sized automobile which was produced by Saab from 1978 until 1998 in two generations; the first from 1978 to 1993, and the second from 1994 to 1998.
The first-generation car was based on the Saab 99 chassis, though with a ...
to Boise.
More disaster follows for the Pears. They arrive in Boise to find their new house stripped of not only its cabinetry and appliances, but its doors, stairs, and swimming pool - revealing that the sellers were indeed serious when they said that they were "taking everything with us". The movers made an unscheduled stop in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Brad reveals himself to have multiple personality disorder and delivers the Saab in a stripped and wrecked heap. Arlo's job is eliminated on his first day in a highly publicized news conference. To top it all off, his new neighbor is revealed to be the twin brother of Frank Crawford, the shell-shocked Vietnam War veteran who lived next door to them in New Jersey. Like Frank, Cornell Crawford has the same anti-social tendencies as his brother, including mowing his grass with a monstrous contraption powered by a V8 engine.
Arlo snaps. He threatens the sellers of his new home with violence if they do not restore it. He tracks down the moving team on the highway and makes short work of them physically after they arrive at his home. He finds his new boss and manages to save his job. He orders Brad to leave after delivering the Saab or face certain death.
And when Cornell Crawford gets ready to mow his
grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
, he is interrupted by Pear, who tells him to put his contraption back in the garage and invest in a "human-sized mower". As Cornell says "who's going to make me", he is answered with ferocious barking from Flipper, the Pears' normally hopelessly lazy dog, apparently at the end of his own rope from all the moving mess. Cornell immediately backs off, obviously alarmed, and expresses his admiration for his new neighbors. The film ends with Arlo replying to his new neighbor by flipping him his index finger, and the surprise arrival of Casey, who was tired of being separated from her family and joined them out West.
Cast
*
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...
as Arlo Pear
*
Beverly Todd
Beverly Todd (born July 11, 1946) is an American actress, producer and writer. She is known for her roles in films '' Brother John'' (1971), '' Moving'' (1988), '' Lean on Me'' (1989) and ''The Bucket List'' (2007).
On television, Todd appeared ...
as Monica Pear
*
Stacey Dash
Stacey Lauretta Dash (born January 20, 1967) is an American actress. Dash played Dionne Marie Davenport in the 1995 feature film '' Clueless'' and its television series of the same name. She has also appeared in the films '' Moving'', '' Mo' Mo ...
as Casey Pear
*
Randy Quaid
Randy Randall Rudy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor known for his roles in both serious drama and light comedy.
He was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role in ''The Last Detail'' i ...
as Frank and Cornell Crawford
*
Gordon Jump
Alexander Gordon Jump (April 1, 1932 – September 22, 2003) was an American actor best known as the clueless, yet occasionally wise, radio station manager Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson in the TV series ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' and the incompetent Ch ...
as Simon Eberhard
*
Dave Thomas Dave may refer to:
Film, television, and theater
* Dave (film), ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver
* Dave (musical), ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film
* Dave (TV channel), a digital ...
as Gary Marcus
*
Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his seven seasons as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1993, which earned him fiv ...
as Brad Williams
*
King Kong Bundy
Christopher Alan Pallies (November 7, 1955 – March 5, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, actor and stand-up comedian, better known by his wrestling gimmick and ring name, King Kong Bundy. Under this gimmick, he portrayed a pugnacious, ...
as Gorgo
*
Ji-Tu Cumbuka
Ji-Tu Cumbuka (March 4, 1940 – July 4, 2017) was an American actor.
He is best remembered as "Torque" in the hit TV series ''A Man Called Sloane'' together with Robert Conrad and Dan O'Herlihy.
In 2011, Cumbuka published his autobiography ...
as Edwards
*
Robert LaSardo
Robert LaSardo is an American character actor.
Early life
LaSardo was born in Brooklyn, New York. He began his career studying at the High School of Performing Arts in New York City where he became an honors student, before attending the St ...
as Perry
*
Morris Day
Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.
Music career
Morris Day is best known as the lead singer of The Time, a group associated with Prince. Day and Pri ...
as Rudy "Something"
*
Rodney Dangerfield
Rodney Dangerfield (born Jacob Rodney Cohen; November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He was known for his self-deprecating one-liner humor, his catchphrase "I don't get no resp ...
as Loan broker
Reception
Box office
The film debuted at No. 4, and was a failure at box office, grossing
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
10,815,378.
Critical response
The film received mixed reviews. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film received an approval rating of 33%, based on five reviews listed, two are positive and three are negative. A negative one came from the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', which stated that the film "is pretty flat as a comedy, but is of interest as a case study in sociology, as the Pears could just as easily be white as black. There's a certain irony that a comedy of errors, even a disappointing one, is set against the perfection of an idealized backdrop of a fully and harmoniously racially integrated society."
The
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
also noted that, due to its heavy language, "
he film's
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
R rating is appropriate."
[ ]Janet Maslin
Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...
, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
film critic, provided a positive notice and stated that "Pryor presides over ''Moving'' with Cosbyesque geniality" and that he "does a lot to make he film
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
funny."
Home media
The film was released on DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
as of August 22, 2006, as part of a double feature, packaged with ''Greased Lightning
''Greased Lightning'' is a 1977 American biographical film starring Richard Pryor, Beau Bridges, and Pam Grier, and directed by Michael Schultz. The film is loosely based on the true life story of Wendell Scott, the first Black NASCAR race winn ...
''. Both movies are on the same side of a single disc.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moving (1988 Film)
1980s comedy road movies
1988 comedy films
1988 films
American comedy road movies
Films directed by Alan Metter
Films scored by Howard Shore
Films set in Idaho
Films set in New Jersey
Films shot in Idaho
Films with screenplays by Andy Breckman
Warner Bros. films
Brooksfilms films
1980s English-language films
1980s American films