(it what it should have been !!!) But, I would've used the actual story of his life instead of using a fictional character to depict his life. Autobiographical film starring Richard Pryor, who portrays himself as Jo-Jo Dancer, a dope-addled comedian. Overall, cinema-goers much prefer the movie, giving it an average score of 82%, compared to film critics, who gave it a considerably lower average score of 0%. Add to Wishlist. I'm not sure if a biographical film as raw and truthful as "Jo Jo Dancer" ever had a chance to be a big financial hit. To be honest, I've never been impressed with Pryor as an actor. The movie seems to be more or less a biopic of Pryor's life using the pseudonym Jo Jo Dancer. See reviews & details on a wide selection of Blu-ray & DVDs, both new & used. JO JO DANCER, YOUR LIFE IS CALLING stars Richard Pryor as a well-known comedian at the peak of his popularity and the bottom rung of his self-esteem. All about Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986) English Cinema, Trailer, Video clips, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling Reviews, Expert Reviews, Story, Photo Gallery, Trivia & Goofups and Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling Songs. The rest of the scene is borrowed from the headlines, as Jo Jo is raced into an emergency room with burns over most of his body. I hadn't thought about this movie for some time. ... ; Rocco Urbisci. The movie starts with Jo Jo as a kid, living with his mother, who (hows this?) His spirit watches his wounded body in his hospital bed and recalls his journey to that point. I'll pass. Jo Jo has it all, Hollywood stardom, movie roles, platinum records. Shop Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling [DVD] [1986] at Best Buy. 1986's Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling does touch on some of the comic's darker periods but still comes off a little easy. It is funny and actually touching in parts. After severely burning himself in a drug incident, a comedian has a near death experience in which he reviews his life. Obviously her initial response has her laughing aloud. manages a whorehouse, so he gets to the savor the tasty sights through peepholes, or through having his ears pressed up against the doors, hearing those joyous sounds of sex. JO JO DANCER, YOUR LIFE IS CALLING stars Richard Pryor as a well-known comedian at the peak of his popularity and the bottom rung of his self-esteem. External Reviews | Overall, these transfers are pretty good, but flawed like the movie itself. It is interesting to watch a movie filmed in your home area. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling is a 1986 American biographical comedy-drama film directed, produced by and starring Richard Pryor, who also wrote the screenplay with Paul Mooney and Rocco Urbisci. Coked up, an alcoholic too, Jo Jo (Pryor) severely burns himself. That’s about it. (I saw "Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling" in the theater when it first came out.). Review by Will Remmers Patron. There were parts of this movie that were redone at a later date to "soften" it up some for the new improved Pryor (after his accident). Coming out of it, enter the other Pryor, the voice inside his head, the apparition, telling him to get his life back on track. At the USA Cinema 57. Firstly, it was too rough for the super-slick mid-80s, being shot and structured more like a seventies film. "Jo Jo Dancer" is well acted but it seems to be longer than it actually is. Online reviewers have written 20 reviews, giving Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986) an average rating of 70%. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling. The movie just doesn't work as well as it should have. His father beats him up and his young wife is too afraid to go with him. Urbisci and Paul Mooney. In popular culture. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling received mixed reviews from critics. I was a King County deputy (outside Seattle) at the time working off duty for set security on this movie and was invited to be in it. ...this movie resonates all the more of the difficult life he lived and the humor that somehow came out of it. Jo Jo Dancer (Richard Pryor) is a successful comedian. It currently has a 55% "Rotten" rating on the movie review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes based on eleven reviews. Autobiographical film starring Richard Pryor, who portrays himself as Jo-Jo Dancer, a dope-addled comedian. I am one of the two cops (the one with all the hair) at the end of the movie confronting Richard Pryor. Jo Jo Dancer, your life is calling. There is a great sequence where Pryor, dressed in drag, pulls out a fake pistol and tries to bluff the club's Mafia owners into paying him his salary. it was well made, but, if this is a true depiction of the real life of richard pryor, then it is sad and extremely tragic. Jo Jo Dancer Your Life is Calling (1987) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Richard Pryor direct, wrote, produced and stars in this film about a famous stand up comic who begins to rethink his life after catching himself on fire. ... ; Rocco Urbisci. jo jo dancer - the lord is calling !!! … Watched Sep 12, 2020. An anti drug alcohol movie in part, this shows the pitfalls and struggles of the virgin comedian, the highs and lows they encounter, the humiliation and bitter disappointments, he must first endure. JO JO DANCER, YOUR LIFE IS CALLING stars Richard Pryor as a well-known comedian at the peak of his popularity and the bottom rung of his self-esteem. Although Jo Jo Dancer (Richard Pryor) has achieved success as a stand-up comedian, he hasn't found happiness. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling at Amazon.com. I don't know how much was real and how much was fictionalized, but it definitely was an up and down life. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. The title of the film is mentioned in the lyrics to the 2013 Afrojack song "The Spark" and the 2016 Danny Brown song “Downward Spiral” But the price he pays for fame and fortune is too great. Maybe Richard Pryor should have handed the direction off to a seasoned veteran rather than trying to do it himself. We see the affection he receives, but also the conflicting signals about sex, race, and booze. He's great alongside Gene Wilder, but I can't think of anything in which he was great by himself. JO JO DANCER, YOUR LIFE IS CALLING stars Richard Pryor as a well-known comedian at the peak of his popularity and the bottom rung of his self-esteem. But viewed now, more than 15 years later, it is obvious that the film did not deserve the critical drubbing it got back in the day. Jo Jo has it all, Hollywood stardom, movie roles,platinum records. | Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling at Amazon.com. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling is a 1986 American biographical comedy-drama film directed, produced by and starring Richard Pryor, who also wrote the screenplay with Paul Mooney and Rocco Urbisci. He buckles under the pressures of success and suffers a life-threatening accident. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling 1986. Jo Jo has it all, Hollywood stardom, movie roles,platinum records. Jo Jo Dancer Your Life is Calling: Richard Pryor, Wings Hauser, Debbie Allen: Amazon.co.uk: Video They pop up here and there but are never too distracting. The structure of the movie leads us to a place where we expect some sort of redemption and re-evaluation from the character, but it's not there and we miss it. You can't help thinking, some of the real Richard has been incorporated into his character, Pryor, just as good a dramatic actor, as a comedic one. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1986 Vinyl release of Jo Jo Dancer (Your Life Is Calling) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Discogs. A-. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (2-May-1986) Director: Richard Pryor. Ways in which Jo Jo Dancer and Richard Pryor are dissimilar: one is named Jo Jo Dancer and the other Richard Pryor. [Richard Pryor; Columbia Pictures Industries. IN THE FIRST scene of Jo Jo Dancer… Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986) Details. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling is a 1986 biographical comedy movie by director Richard Pryor, who also starred as the title character, Jo Jo Dancer, alongside Debbie Allen and Michael Ironside. I guess I would've like to have seen this as "The Richard Pryor Story" rather than creating a fictional character to mirror Pryor's life. Jo Jo Dancer begins with the title character in a lavish mansion, making a one-sided phone call to a friend. Sherlock. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. So he leaves and toughs it on his own, while later becoming involved with two women, the latter, Debbie Allen, wanting to see him dead. and . There's an abrupt transition from these early scenes, which seem bathed in a glow of nostalgia and gratitude, and later scenes in which Jo Jo starts to make it big and is introduced to the Beverly Hills cocaine scene. There is dust, pieces of dirt and blemishes on the print. He throws bottles and paraphernalia into the fireplace, screams to himself that he's gotta stop, and then decides to do cocaine one last time. I still watch this movie from time to time but it's just not completely satisfying. Richard Pryor's life has been riddled with disaster so when he made a film that was largely autobiographical, it was bound to have some tragedy mixed in with the jokes. Jo Jo has it all--Hollywood stardom...movie roles...platinum record albums. Writer-director-producer-star Richard Pryor created a very strong film, simultaneously entertaining, funny, pathetic, provocative, heartbreaking, revealing, and raw. There is dust, pieces of dirt and blemishes on the print. 1986 97 minutes. The explanatory joke involving birth, really cracked me up. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling Richard Pryor Debbie Allen Carmen McRae (1986) Stand-up comic Jo Jo's (Richard Pryor) alter ego recalls his wild childhood, four wives and drug-related downfall. $3.99 Rent HD. User Ratings JO JO DANCER, YOUR LIFE IS CALLING - stars Richard Pryor as a well-known comedian at the peak of his popularity and the bottom rung of his self-esteem.Jo Jo has it all, Hollywood stardom, movie roles,platinum records. Jo Jo Dancer Your Life Is Calling [Import] Richard Pryor (Actor, Director, Producer, Writer), Debbie Allen (Actor) Rated: R (Restricted) Format: VHS Tape 4.6 out of 5 stars 93 ratings Watch out for Wings Hauser who Pryor knocks out, when finding him and his first girlfriend in an uncompromising position, doing blow whatever. Check out the exclusive TVGuide.com movie review and see our movie rating for Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling reviewed in the united states on 15 july 2014. verified purchase. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling Richard Pryor Debbie Allen Carmen McRae (1986) Stand-up comic Jo Jo's (Richard Pryor) alter ego recalls his wild childhood, four wives and drug-related downfall. Yes, I agree it would be interesting to see how some of the kids are doing now..24 yrs later. They pop up here and there but are never too distracting. Richard Pryor's semi-autobiographical film is uneven to say the least but has some fine moments. The alter-ego stuff works well in some scenes and not that well in others. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling begins with a chapter from Pryor's own real life, his attempts to kick drugs and pain resulting in third-degree burns over half his body and a rush to the hospital. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. “Jo Jo Dancer” begins when its hero already is an entertainment superstar. it was well made, but, if this is a true depiction of the real life … Directed by Richard Pryor. JO JO DANCER, YOUR LIFE IS CALLING stars Richard Pryor as a well-known comedian at the peak of his popularity and the bottom rung of his self-esteem. These passages are a reminder of “Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip" and “Richard Pryor Here and Now,” his two post-cocaine concert films. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling. Dancer aged twenty years in about fifteen minutes of stage routines, then he went through three wives in around sixty minutes. "Jo Jo Dancer Your Life Is Calling" is presented in both 1.33:1 full screen and 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Pryor's directorial debut, delivers on all cylinders, One and Done: Actor turned one-time Director. I don't know. He buckles under the pressures of success and suffers a life-threatening accident. mrs. dione l. williamscrayton craytond2000@msn.com; july 14, 2014 | ''Jo Jo Dancer'' is a far from great movie. jo jo dancer is really a extremely depressing movie. "Jo Jo Dancer Your Life Is Calling" is presented in both 1.33:1 full screen and 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. JO JO DANCER, YOUR LIFE IS CALLING stars Richard Pryor as a well-known comedian at the peak of his popularity and the bottom rung of his self-esteem. Like Pryor, Jo Jo Dancer lay in intensive care recovering from the burns and at the same time fighting withdrawals from freebased cocaine. 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