Rent Silver Streak (1976)

Train Wreck - Silver Streak review by Steve

Flawed Hitchcock homage which was huge box office in 1976, but hasn't passed the test of time. A major problem is casting Gene Wilder as a romantic/action hero. Sure he was a popular '70s star, but hardly Cary Grant. Plus the racist language is impossible to overlook in what is supposed to be a family blockbuster.

Apparently Richard Pryor insisted this remain and claimed it would be funny. Well, he was wrong. Then there's a scene where Wilder blacks up and gets his groove on to escape from the cops, which is cringeworthy. Still, after this success the two comedians became a popular big screen double act in a string of star vehicles. 

Wilder plays a divorced, mid-life wage slave travelling by train from Los Angeles to Chicago to attend a wedding. He says he's going by rail to catch up on his reading, but really it's because this is a North by Northwest rip off and he's got to be seduced by Jill Clayburgh while being tangled up in will-this-do McGuffin.

Which is all fine, and it picks up on the hour when Pryor arrives as a sassy car thief who stops Wilder getting eliminated by the bad guys, led by Patrick McGoohan. Aside from these many reservations... this is serviceable mainstream comic action-adventure which often used to be shown on daytime tv. But isn't anymore...