To be entirely fair, I thought Arthur Hiller's Silver Streak was a buddy movie between Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. All of the most famous scenes--especially Pryor teaching Wilder how to "be black" so he can sneak aboard a train guarded by some federal agents--involve the two of them. And indeed, the best scenes in the movie are when the two of them are onscreen together. They have an effortless emotional chemistry, one that allows the other to be human, not just a comedic stereotype. The moment they get together they feel like two real human beings who empathetically care for each other. Too bad they only have 15-20 minutes of screentime together. The rest is devoted to a pedestrian, occasionally confusing mystery plot that climaxes in an admittedly incredible train crash that feels ripped from an action movie. Make no mistake: this is Wilder's movie. And that's kind of the problem. Wilder himself is fine. But his character, sans Pryor's influence, is kinda dry and stale.
5/10
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