Critical Condition Reviews

The prognosis here is poor. CRITICAL CONDITION verges on being fatal, unless the viewer happens to be a diehard Richard Pryor fan and thinks the actor can do no wrong. Eddie (Pryor) is an eccentric businessman with grandiose ideas. When he needs a loan for the construction of a cineplex, he ends up doing business with a loan shark. Suddenly, he is smack-dab in the middle of a police "sting" operation, is arrested, and tossed into prison. Eddie decides to fake insanity to get out and is so convincing that he is taken to a hospital psycho ward. During a blackout, he escapes, only to be mistaken for an emergency room physician. The picture is predictable, and the fault lies in the hands of brothers Denis and John Hamill, who teamed to write the script. The jokes are feeble and tasteless. Director Michael Apted does not show much of a feel for comedy pacing.