Why a critically panned 1989 comedy became the final hit for a legendary duo
In short: See No Evil, Hear No Evil paired Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor as a deaf man and a blind man caught in a murder mystery. Despite scathing reviews that labeled the script idiotic, the film became a box office success, marking the last time the iconic pair found financial triumph together.
Released in May 1989, See No Evil, Hear No Evil was the third of four collaborations between Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. The film follows Dave, a deaf man, and Wally, a blind man, who become prime suspects in a murder after a gold coin—actually a disguise for a valuable superconductor—is hidden in their shop. The duo must navigate their sensory limitations and a criminal conspiracy to clear their names, eventually facing off against a blind villain at a remote estate.
The production history was fraught with tension. Screenwriters Joseph Bologna and Renée Taylor sold their initial script to Columbia Pictures in 1984 for $200,000, but the project later moved to TriStar. Wilder only signed on after securing the right to rewrite the script himself, and Jim Belushi had originally been considered for the role of the deaf protagonist. Principal photography commenced in August 1988, utilizing locations across New York and New Jersey.
Critical reception was largely negative, with the film holding a 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics like Roger Ebert and Chris Hicks panned the plot as dumb and the humor as juvenile, arguing that the film failed to utilize the chemistry that made earlier pairings like Silver Streak and Stir Crazy successful. However, Vincent Canby offered a dissenting view, calling it the duo's most successful vehicle. Despite the critical drubbing, the film held the number one spot at the box office for two weeks, though it would be the last financially successful collaboration for the pair before their final, critically savaged film, Another You, in 1991.
Legal disputes also shadowed the project. Bologna and Taylor eventually sued the studio for $10 million, citing unpaid bonuses tied to Pryor’s casting, revision fees, and profit-sharing agreements. While the film is remembered today as a commercial success that failed to win over the critics, it remains a notable entry in the history of the Wilder-Pryor partnership, highlighting the complex intersection of star power, studio expectations, and creative control.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: See No Evil, Hear No Evil (film)
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