Critical Condition (film)

Critical Condition is a 1987 American comedy film starring Richard Pryor and directed by Michael Apted. The film was released in the United States on January 16, 1987.

Critical Condition
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Apted
Screenplay by	Denis Hamill John Hamill
Story by	Denis Hamill John Hamill Alan Swyer
Produced by	Ted Field Robert Cort
Starring	Richard Pryor
Cinematography	Ralf D. Bode
Edited by	Robert K. Lambert
Music by	Alan Silvestri
Production company	Ted Field – Robert Cort Production
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	January 16, 1987 (1987-01-16)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$14 million
Box office	$20.2 million

Plot

Kevin Lenahan is a con man who is framed in a jewel robbery. To escape custody, he fakes insanity before a judge and then poses as surgeon Dr. Eddie Slattery at a local hospital when he switches places with the administrator Arthur Chambers. During a flood and a power outage that follows, Kevin takes charge of the hospital and tries to maintain some order in his unorthodox way.

Cast

• Richard Pryor as Kevin Lenahan / Dr. Eddie Slattery
• Rachel Ticotin as Rachel Atwood
• Rubén Blades as Louis
• Joe Mantegna as Arthur Chambers
• Bob Dishy as Dr. Foster
• Sylvia Miles as Nurse Maggie Lesser
• Joe Dallesandro as Stucky
• Randall "Tex" Cobb as Box
• Bob Saget as Dr. Joffe
• Joseph Ragno as Palazzi
• Jon Polito as Kline
• Garrett Morris as Helicopter Junkie
• Brian Tarantina as Tommy Pinto
• Cigdem Onat as Dr. Alice Hoffman
• Kate McGregor-Stewart as Nurse Mary
• Lou Walker as Patient with Leg Cast
• Denis Hamill as Maintenance Men
• John Hamill as Maintenance Men
• Ralf D. Bode as Judge
• Wesley Snipes as Ambulance Driver

Music

In 2014, Alan Silvestri's score was released on a limited edition album by Quartet Records, twinned with his music for Summer Rental.

Reception

Box office

The film debuted at No.1 with $5.7 million.^{[1][2][circular reference]}

Critical response

The New York Times film critic Janet Maslin remarked, "No one in Critical Condition, which opens today at Loews State and other theaters, is working at top form, least of all Mr. Pryor, who looks haggard and agitated much of the time. Still, the film does have an interesting cast and an energetic tempo."^[3] The Los Angeles Times wrote that Pryor's performance "is as good as anything he's done in a non-concert movie" but "it still somehow misfires".^[4] The South Florida Sun-Sentinel called it a "misguided semicomedy" and wrote, "Judging from this lamebrained film, Richard Pryor's crown as a screen comedy king is slipping off his head."^[5] The Chicago Tribune's Dave Kehr wrote that the film "adds, with what has become a glum predictability, one more disappointing title to Richard Pryor's credits". Kehr suggested that Pryor's stage persona, more able to work off immediate audience feedback, worked better than his film persona, with which he "musters only an unctuous sweetness".^[6]

See also

• List of American films of 1987
• List of comedy films of 1987