For better or worse, beloved comedian Richard Pryor’s semi-autobiographical film Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling is an ‘80s film, through and through. From the start, we have the classic neon glow of the film’s title backed up by the song “My Destiny,” sung by the one and only Chaka Khan. What’s not so ‘80s about this film is Pryor himself, a titan of stand-up comedy whose reign dominated the ‘70s. Directed by Pryor himself, Jo Jo Dancer is a film that depicts the different elements of Pryor’s life (rough beginnings, stardom, past loves) through the main character of Jo Jo Dancer (played by Pryor). The film begins with JoJo in the hospital for severe burns due to freebasing cocaine (a callback to Pryor’s real-life tragic incident). As he fights for his life in the hospital room, Alter Ego, a guardian angel-like character also played by Pryor, takes Pryor on a dark It’s a Wonderful Life journey starting with his childhood and going into his young adult years of pursing stardom to his love affairs and to his downfall, and, through it all, the inevitable question begs to be answered “Are you still done?” While the story itself seems generic and the drama a bit uneven, Jo Jo Dancer has its heart in the right place with a larger-than-life figure at its center.
L-R: Richard Pryor as Alter Ego and E’Lon Cox as Young Jo Jo Dancer in JO JO DANCER, YOUR LIFE IS CALLING. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
To discover why Richard Pryor was so special or to figure out why him being the center of such an uneven story works, all one has to do is listen to the joke playing during the opening credits. Pryor discusses in front of an audience how he always knew he was special (hence: the film’s point), ever since he was a newborn. He sets up a funny premise where his older sister would throw up on him and, being a newborn, of course, he was lost, trying to find words to connect to this other being that was sister. The premise is very old-school Bill Cosby-like, taking humor in everyday strange things like babies throwing up, babies being thrown up on. But again, this is Pryor. The humorous setup ends in his signature profane nature. He concludes by saying that if he was able to talk as a newborn and emotionally connect to this sister, he’d ask her emphatically, “Bitch, what the fuck is wrong with you?!” This setup defines Pryor’s comedy as well as Jo Jo’s journey from clean comedy to poignantly profane comedy. There’re two other key moments where we see Pryor’s brilliant brand of physical comedy through the character of Jo Jo. In one, he hilariously does an impression of a baby coming out of his mother’s body at birth, his facial expressions and his mannerisms being so on-point, it’s not just funny, it’s transformative. The other is where he does a burlesque dance in full-on drag, copying the routine of Satin Doll (played by Paula Kelly) a beautiful dancer who brings Jo Jo in under her wing, setting forth his path to success in show business.
L-R: Richard Pryor as Jo Jo Dancer and Alter Ego in JO JO DANCER, YOUR LIFE IS CALLING. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Comedy aside, Pryor bares all of himself in this film. Literally. We see his bare-naked backside in at least two scenes. He lays out the ups and downs of his life. A film revolving around anyone less famous or impactful probably wouldn’t make it to a Criterion re-release, but who’s at the center of this story is the biggest part of why it matters. As a young boy (E’Lon Cox playing the young Jo Jo), we see Jo Jo come into contact with shocking things that would influence his (Pryor’s) signature humor backed with blistering social commentary. The two key scenes are young Jo Jo passing a Black man becoming a victim of police brutality while chanting “Help me, Lord, help me” and a white “john” being thrown out of his grandmother’s brothel after asking a prostitute to urinate on him. Such disturbing visuals shouldn’t be witnessed by a child, but, again, this is what makes Pryor who he is. Through the film’s dramatic moments, Pryor’s charisma, rather than his gravitas, is what sells the performance of Jo Jo. We feel Jo Jo’s vulnerability, his shame, his pain, and his ambition simply because Pryor’s presence makes them felt.
Richard Pryor’s direction of Jo Jo Dancer is, at the very least, interesting. Co-written by Pryor himself, Pryor’s partner-in-crime Paul Mooney (Richard Pryor: Live in Concert; Richard Pryor: Here and Now), and George Carlin-aficionado Rocco Urbisci (George Carlin: Playin’ with Your Head; The Richard Pryor Special?), Jo Jo Dancer tries to keep a balance on the comedy and drama, but, in the end, it’s the awkward editing that betrays the story’s emotion. The film carries poignant, jarring moments, like a moment of parental abuse from Jo Jo’s father (played by a rough, no-nonsense Scoey Mitchell) and a heated racially-charged argument between Jo Jo and his second love Dawn (played by Barbara Williams), but it’s the quick cutaways from these poignant scenes that don’t give the moments nor the emotions room to breathe. However, that doesn’t take away from Pryor letting his artistry fly from a directorial standpoint. There’s a fantastic montage set to the tune of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” that shrewdly depicts Jo Jo’s journey from clean comedy to profane comedy, all while climbing the ranks of stardom. There’s also a wild, coked-out L.A. party sequence where the camerawork is both suffocating and dizzying. While Jo Jo is an uneven but commendable directorial effort, it would’ve been interesting to see more of what Pryor could do behind the camera directing other narrative films (his only other directorial credit being for his 1983 concert film Here and Now).
Richard Pryor as Jo Jo Dancer in JO JO DANCER, YOUR LIFE IS CALLING. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
This is a 4K digital restoration on a Blu-ray disk and giving Jo Jo Dancer the Criterion treatment is as surprising as it is polarizing. Not that the film, a soul-baring, autobiographical film about a renowned, troubled comedian, isn’t worth a 4K makeover, it’s more so that the 4K digital restoration on the Blu-ray edition (this review is based on) can be a bit distracting. As the colors and cinematography are updated, Jo Jo proves that it’s a film that doesn’t really need the upscale presentation. Let me put it this way, if a film is just ok to look at from the start in standard definition, it’s possible that upscaling it to 4K won’t really be able to add much, and such is the unfortunate case here. On the supplemental side, features are a bit lean. There’s an interview with Hollywood maverick and filmmaker Robert Townsend (Hollywood Shuffle) discussing the film, an interview with Pryor from a 1985 episode of The Dick Cavett Show, and a written appreciation by critic Hilton Als in the film’s release booklet. This is a must-have for any fans of Pryor, any fan of comedy in general, or anybody who wants to own an edgy hall-of-mirrors biopic told by the larger-than-life subject himself.
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling Special Features:
- *New* 4K digital restoration, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- *New* interview on the film with filmmaker Robert Townsend
- Interview with director Richard Pryor from a 1985 episode of The Dick Cavett Show
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An appreciation by critic Hilton Als
- New cover by Matt Small
Available now on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray via The Criterion Collection January 14th, 2025.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Recommendation
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