It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

When I was a kid I would watch this movie over and over and never tire of it. It was a favorite of mine. I knew nothing of the plot I only knew that Richard Pryor was a cut up and he was playing the role of a child's toy.Well, I just watched this movie this morning and this movie is humiliating. Richard Pryor plays Jack Brown, a clown claiming to be a journalist. No, he wasn't a clown by trade, he was a journalist but he was such a buffoon that there's no way he could've legitimately became a journalist. His foolish antics were so extreme that they got him fired as a cleaning "lady" (yes, cleaning lady) and got him hired as a child's toy. Not only was it humiliating watching Richard Pryor play the role of a total screw up but the humiliation only intensified when he was purchased. Yes, purchased; much like a slave trader would purchase a slave at an auction. A rich white kid named Eric Bates (Scott Schwartz) quite literally said, "I want to buy that black man." Jack Brown allowed himself to be bought/rented all the while proclaiming he had dignity.From there it was a series of abuse at the hands of Master Eric as is the norm with children and their toys. I guess there was a message built into the movie but it was lost on me because it was so horribly done. Whatever point that was made when Jack Brown and Eric Bates forged their relationship was lost amidst the complete buffoonery on Jack Brown's part. He lavishly screws up time and again yet had the nerves to ask U.S. Bates (Jackie Gleason) for a job as a journalist at his paper--commenting that no men of color worked there. If he hired Jack Brown it would have only been to fill a quota because Jack wasn't qualified to shine shoes let alone write for a newspaper.This farcical show was wretched. Pryor is a total stooge, Gleason is an oblivious quasi-racist rich fat cat and the kid is just another spoiled rich kid. If you like seeing black men playing stereotypical dumb you-know-what roles then this is the movie for you.

Now that may sound misleading since Lovecraft had nothing to do with this Pryor, Gleason and Donner comedy, but there was so much in it that would be impossible to comprehend.First let's address the elephant in the room. Yes it's a rich white Billionaire buying a black man for his kid to play with. Yes by all accounts it's modern day slavery. Yes this pretty much became severely harsher in hindsight not just from those implications, but due to the recent events surrounding human trafficking. But what I like about the movie isn't just the comedy once you get past it. But the fact that they managed to get this movie made at all in spite of the implications. If a censor today were to look at this idea, they would probably have the human equivalent to Blue Screen of Death before going insane at how they managed to get away with that. And that's why I consider it a Lovecraft movie. Because it's that F***ing crazy.

I know there was a lot of controversy around this film, due to the fact we have a rich white man buying a black man for his son, but I think that people just took this film way too seriously. Richard Pryor is one of the best comedians of all time, so I definitely became interested in seeing this film after I saw it on VH1's "I love the 80's" show, once again though, it seemed like they were giving the film a hard time. Well, I saw this at a store and figured for 5 dollars, what the heck? It's the rental price, if I liked the movie, I might as well own it. Well, I watched it this morning, I have to say that I thought that this was a very cute film that I'm sure if you have an open mind, you'll definitely enjoy it.Jack is a journalist looking for a job, he's not getting anything though, at first he starts as a cleaning lady, but is fired by a snobby rich man. Then he's security at a toy store where the snobby rich man's son is shopping for anything he wants, he sees Jack and thinks he is funny, he wants him as the toy. When offered enough money to save his house, Jack agrees to it, but he's getting just a bit humiliated when he is constantly mocked, understandably. But when he gives the little boy a chance, they end up becoming great friends.The Toy is just a fun movie that I'm sure you'll get a kick out of if you just give it a shot. It's a definite 80's classic that had great comedy in it, Richard was absolutely hilarious. He and Scott Schwartz were very adorable together and looked like they had so much fun together. I would recommend this film for a fun comedy, you're guaranteed a few laughs.7/10

Richard Pryor's early 80s running down the street on fire incident must have affected him somehow. In his stand up,he jokes about it getting great laughs. It seemed to have done something involving the projects he chose. The Toy is about the lamest he ever chose,aside from I guess Another You.A movie where a white man buys his son a black man? Nice little bit of underlying political incorrectness before thee was such a thing. It's seeing Richard getting all sentimental that made me finally walk out before the end. I wanted to see Pryor get even with this brat,instead it becomes the misunderstood kid nauseum! At least Gleason had his moments. Ignore this and watch Pryor with Gene Wilder or any of his '70s stuff. This is a waste of any movie watcher's time!