''Bustin' Loose'' is a 1981 American

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

comedy-drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, grief, etc. ...

starring

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...

and

Cicely Tyson Cecily Louise "Cicely" Tyson (; December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, she is known for her portrayals of complex and strong-willed African American women. She received sev ...

. It was directed by

Oz Scott Osborne Scott (born September 16, 1949) is an American television and film director and producer. He is most known for '' Mr. Boogedy'', an award-winning short film. Life and career Born in Hampton, Virginia, Scott attended NYU's Tisch School ...

and

Michael Schultz Michael Schultz (born November 10, 1938) is an American director and producer of theater, film and television. Life and career Schultz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of an African-American mother Katherine Frances Leslie (1917–199 ...

(uncredited) and written by Pryor (story), Lonne Elder III (adaptation), and Roger L. Simon (screenplay). Along with starring Pryor and Tyson, the film also features Robert Christian and George Coe. ''Bustin' Loose'' was produced by Michael S. Glick and Pryor.

Plot

Joe Braxton is a convict who violates his parole after a failed attempt to lift a bunch of televisions from a store in Philadelphia. After a dramatic attempt at

reverse psychology Reverse psychology is a technique involving the assertion of a belief or behavior that is opposite to the one desired, with the expectation that this approach will encourage the subject of the persuasion to do what is actually desired. This techn ...

with the judge, he is given a second chance at parole, and his parole-officer, Donald, has him do something for him. Donald is also involved with school teacher Vivian Perry, whose school was just closed down by the city due to budget cuts. While most of the children have been relocated, eight special needs students have yet to be relocated. Vivian decides to take them to her aunt's farm in rural Washington. Donald is against it, and at first gets Joe to tell her the old bus she planned on using would not work. However, that blows up in his face, but Donald then decides to have Joe go ahead and drive the bus to Washington. As Joe, Vivian and the kids ride the bus, the past lives and ailments of the kids are told: * Harold is blind, but so badly wants to drive a vehicle, and eventually does. * Anthony is a pyromaniac who accidentally burned his house down and killed his parents, whom he could not wake up. * Annie is a former Vietnamese

child prostitute Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a Minor (law), minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdict ...

that has a knack for art. Joe thinks he is there to fix and drive the bus, but he finds out his true knack is helping out the kids, especially shown when he scolds and councils Annie after she tries to sleep with him and saves Anthony from setting another person's property on fire, eventually taking the kids fishing for their first time. After fixing the bus in the rain on a dirt road, Joe and Vivian have trouble getting it out of the mud. When Joe leaves to get help, he is found walking in lock step with a group of

Klansmen The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian extremist, white supremacist, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction in the devastated South. Various historians hav ...

, who follow him back to the bus. Joe then manages to talk the head Klansman and the rest into getting the bus out to get the kids to a hospital in Washington, suddenly claiming they are all blind. They agree sympathetically and push them out of the mud. Somewhere in Montana, Donald catches up with them at a motel, after finding out Vivian lied to him and falsified the kids records. After trying to flee in the middle of the night, Donald catches up with them and demands they return to Philadelphia, which the kids, Vivian, and Joe all resist. After arriving at the farm, Vivian meets with a banker in order to secure a $15,000 loan to save the farm. One of the other kids overhears them and tells the rest of the kids this. Joe then confronts the kids, who are whining and protesting about their fate. Joe learns about this as well and heads into town where he sees an ad for a "trapezoid scheme" and goes in to learn about it, dressed as a cowboy from

Texarkana The Texarkana metropolitan statistical area (MSA), as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, is a two-county region anchored by the Twin cities (geographical proximity), twin cities of Texarkana, Texas (population 37,33 ...

. Eventually, he works his way into sitting with the group and schemes to rip them off. He does and gets Vivian her $15,000 then leaves with her, while two men from the group pursue them. After evading them and burning the money, they go back to the farm and have an argument about the money. They realize the old

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

from the bank is there, and they find out the kids told the president of the bank (who is also the mayor of the town) lies about what good things Joe and Vivian did, and convinced the mayor to give the loan and make the kids a part of the community. After they celebrate, Donald shows up with a police officer demanding they all return to Philadelphia but has a confrontation with the mayor that he ends up losing. In the end, it seems that Joe is going to go back to Philly with Donald, but Donald gets to the end of the driveway, and changes his mind and lets Joe stay.

Cast

as Joe Braxton *

as Vivian Perry * Robert Christian as Donald Kinsey * George Coe as Dr. Wilson T. Renfrew * Earl Billings as man at Parole Office * Bill Quinn as Judge Antonio Runzuli * Fred Carney as Alfred Schuyler * Peggy McCay as Gloria Schuyler *

Roy Jenson Roy Cameron Jenson, also known and credited as Roy Jensen (February 9, 1927 – April 24, 2007), was a Canadian American football player, stuntman, and actor. Early years Jenson was born in Calgary, Alberta, and moved to Los Angeles with his ...

as Klan Leader * Alphonso Alexander as Martin * Kia Cooper as Samantha * Edwin de Leon as Ernesto * Jimmy Hughes as Harold * Edwin Kinter as Anthony * Tami Luchow as Linda * Angel Ramirez as Julio * Janet Wong as Annie * Nick Dimitri as Frank Munjak * Morgan Roberts as Uncle Humphrey * Inez Pedroza as herself *

Gary Goetzman Gary Michael Goetzman (born November 6, 1952) is an American film and television producer and actor, and co-founder of the production company Playtone with actor Tom Hanks. Life and career Born in Los Angeles, Goetzman began his career as a ch ...

as Store Manager * Paul Mooney as Marvin * Paul Gardner as Anchorman * Ben Gerard as Man * Vern Taylor as Highway Patrolman #1

Production

''Bustin' Loose'' was filmed in part in various towns in

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, including

Carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...

, Ellensburg, and Snohomish.

Music

Although the film's score was composed by Mark Davis, Roberta Flack also contributed new original music to the film and released a

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

for the film on June 5, 1981.

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

and

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson ( ; born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the hit singles " Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", "You're Looking Like ...

contributed vocals to the album and Vandross wrote the song, "You Stopped Loving Me", which he later performed himself on his debut album '' Never Too Much''.

Soundtrack

''Bustin' Loose'' is a

album released by

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

in 1981. It was recorded for the movie of the same title starring

and

contributed vocals to the album and Vandross wrote the song, "You Stopped Loving Me", which he later performed himself on his debut album '' Never Too Much''.

Track listing

#"Lovin' You (Is Such an Easy Thang to Do)" (

, Buddy Williams) :57#"Rollin' On" :17#"You Stopped Loving Me" :32#"Just When I Needed You" (

Eric Mercury Eric Alexander Mercury (28 June 1944 – 14 March 2022) was a Canadian singer who was a member of the soul group The Soul Searchers during the 1960s. He later made waves in 1969 with his '' Electric Black Man'' album. He had two hits: the fir ...

, Roberta Flack) :48#"Qual E Malindrinho (Why Are You So Bad)" :47#"Love Always Commands" :27#"Children's Song" :40#"Ballad for D" :35#"Hittin' Me Where It Hurts" :43

Personnel

*Roberta Flack - vocals, piano *

- backing vocals *

Barry Miles Barry Miles (born 21 February 1943) is an English author known for his participation in and writing on the subjects of the 1960s London underground and counterculture. He is the author of numerous books and his work has also regularly appeare ...

- keyboards, arrangements *

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonists Wayne Shorter and David Sa ...

- bass * Dom Um Romão - percussion *

- backing vocals * Georg Wadenius - guitar * Buddy Williams - drums

Reception

''Bustin' Loose'' opened number one at the box office in 828 theaters domestically. It grossed $6,622,753 in its opening weekend. Its run ended with $31,261,269 in the box office, domestically.

Critical response

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote in his review: "Only the incomparable

could make a comedy as determinedly, aggressively sentimental as ''Bustin' Loose'', which is about eight needy orphans and a $15,000 mortgage that's due, and still get an R-rating. Vulgar language is the reason, but because vulgar language is a basic part of the Pryor comedy method, one longs for his every assault on genteelism in ''Bustin' Loose,'' a film that would otherwise be painful." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' gives ''Bustin' Loose'' 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Release

''Bustin' Loose'' was released in theaters on May 22, 1981. 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 ki ...

on May 1, 2001, and again on January 11, 2005.

References

Citations

General and cited sources

* * *

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bustin' Loose (Film) 1981 films 1981 directorial debut films 1980s English-language films 1980s road comedy-drama films African-American films African-American comedy-drama films American road comedy-drama films Films adapted into television shows Films about buses Films about the Ku Klux Klan Films directed by Oz Scott Films with screenplays by Richard Pryor Universal Pictures films 1980s American films English-language road comedy-drama films