Richard Pryor Behind The Camera: ‘Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling’ Reviewed

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Citizen Kane, but it’s no accident that Rosebud appears on Jo Jo’s wall. Like Citizen Kane, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling is about a man who very well could’ve been on his deathbed, looking back at his life so far. The difference: Richard Pryor is essentially playing himself — or a thinly veiled version of himself — in a film he also co-wrote and directed.

In his booklet essay for Criterion’s release, writer Hilton Als describes Pryor as “one of the last of the great artist-martyrs” and Jo Jo Dancer is a film that shouldn’t be possible. Made only six years after Pryor suffered severe burns while under the influence of drugs, there is no distance between Pryor and the accident in question. Naming the character Jo Jo and changing some of the biographical details might’ve acted as a cushion, but public figures are never this open with their personal lives. For a comedian of Pryor’s standing to be so vulnerable and honest is unheard of to this day! It’s why the film is so good — it’s the difference between a celebrity who claims they’re putting all their cards on the table and the (rare) ones who actually do. It feels dangerous watching someone be this unguarded. Pryor was the real deal, and the fact that this film isn’t talked about alongside his groundbreaking comedy albums (there’s a reason you hear Pryor before you see him in this movie) is something this release can hopefully help rectify (the overly long title Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling probably didn’t help it catch on).

Basically, instead of waiting for someone else to tell his story, Pryor beat Hollywood to the punch and while directing your own biopic sounds like a recipe for disaster, Pryor is able to succeed because he doesn’t try to gloss over anything (including showing how male ingenues can be taken advantage of by others). Instead of the usual starlets Hollywood would’ve cast, Pryor fills his movie with the actors who should’ve been big names, like Scoey Mitchell, Carmen McRae (who, to her credit, was a huge jazz artist), and Paula Kelly (who, if you haven’t seen her with Shirley Maclaine and Chita Rivera in Sweet Charity, click here). Instead of skipping to the famous friends parts, Jo Jo Dancer celebrates the people you meet along the way — the so-called minor players who get overlooked or stuck working crappy jobs. Like Arturo (Art Evans), who has a stutter, and finds the humanity in everyone. Just the way Pryor treats his past loves and doesn’t villainize anyone speaks to his integrity. Is the dialogue explication-heavy sometimes and designed to fill viewers in on past relationships? Sure, but it’s done in the service of giving layers to characters who might not have a lot of screentime.

Jo Jo Dancer is a film that absolutely warrants its place in the Criterion collection. The question is whether it’s been given the Criterion treatment it deserves. Did the company miss a tick by not including a commentary with a Pryor scholar or someone who knew him and could give a breakdown of how closely Jo Jo and Pryor’s lives crossed? Maybe separating fact from fiction isn’t the point. Certainly there’s a core truth to this movie even if some of the superficial details, like Jo Jo being from Ohio (Pryor was from Illinois) are different, but there is a danger in assuming Jo Jo is completely Richard, and that’s where bonus content could’ve provided context. What is included on Criterion’s disc is great. More of filmmaker Richard Townsend (who actually knew Pryor) please, and Matt Small‘s mosaic cover is gorgeous. Dick Cavett interviews can be cringy overall (see also his interview with Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni on Criterion’s Blu-ray of A Special Day), but watching Pryor refuse to hit any false notes or pull Cavett out of the hole he digs for himself is something to see.

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling is available on Blu-ray from Criterion. If you only pick up one film in the next flash sale, make it this one.