A Piece of the Action / Uptown Saturday Night

There are a handful of scenes in ‘Uptown
Saturday Night’ that had me laughing almost
uncontrollably. When a movie can produce
even a few scenes that double you over, you
can’t help but recommend it. ‘Uptown
Saturday Night’ is a buddy movie with Bill
Cosby (sporting a hair-do from what appears
to be Colonial times) and Sidney Portier.
The two men go ‘uptown’ in pursuit of a
winning lottery ticket and all sorts of
mayhem ensue. What makes this team-up work
is the almost opposites attract style both
men bring to the role. Bill Cosby is a
natural. He doesn’t even look like he’s
trying and yet he always brings in a great
comedic performance. Sidney turns on his
almost supernatural charm and wins points
on how hard he’s trying. Together, the two
make a great duo. The cast is a whos who of
70s entertainment, and it’s fun to see
people like Harry Belafonte drop the cool
and go for laughs. — I have to drop a star
because of “A Piece of the Action” which is
also a comedy, but not nearly as funny.
Bill and Sidney are back, and working with
troubled urban kids, and the result is a
not-completely-successful mix of comedy and
morality tale. The two try hard enough and
that’s part of the problem, they look like
they are trying too hard in a movie that
doesn’t know whether to go for laughs or
wrench at your heart. It’s not bad … it’s
just middle-of-the-road. But, importantly,
this disc has ‘Uptown Saturday Night’ and
that is more than enough reason to own
this.