Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Silver Streak'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

I'm not sure what it is all of a sudden, but classic films from my childhood, or at least the vague memories I have of some of them have been at the top of my mind as of late, and I keep seeking them out to fire up those memories and experiences. It could be because I recently celebrated a birthday. It could also be because of the fact I'm a nostalgia nut, who knows. 

But when it comes to today's review, my re-discovery of it came about in strange fashion. You see, as a child, I loved trains. I loved playing with toy ones, seeing them in person and any movie or show that featured them, I simply had to watch. I'll never know what made them so fascinating when I was a boy, but my love of them allowed for some interesting and awesome things to be committed to memory forever, including vague recall of a movie where a giant train crashed into a train station, something I recall was just the coolest thing ever at the time.

So naturally, when a discussion with my brother came up over the fact that my nephew Gabriel was suddenly into trains, my mind wandered to those magical days and I decided it was high time to find that movie and find it I did. It turns out that it was entitled Silver Streak, and I found myself hopeful to watch this one after all this time because not only did it feature trains upon trains, but I completely forgot that Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor happened to star in it and well, when all is said and done, there was also a touch of trepidation on my part because the big question that comes into play here is whether or not this film was as awesome as I remembered it. The good news is, the answer is a surprising yes, followed up with, it was actually better than I remember it as well.

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​You see, I'm a sucker for quite a few things. I love Richard Pryor, I've made no secret of the fact that I'm a huge fan of Gene Wilder and a good crime story always sucks me in and that's what Silver Streak has to offer since Wilder plays George, a man on a mid-continental trip on the famed train that shares the namesake of the film's title and it appears at first that this story is about to become a romance flick when George meets a lovely lady named Hilly. But their puppy love is quickly interrupted when George comes to realize that the man she has been traveling with, an art historian named Professor Schreiner, has been murdered and George is quickly drawn into a world of intrigue and murder as he tries to save Hilly and bring Schreiner's killers to justice. 

If anything, we are going to leave the plot at that for several reasons. For one, anything I say more than that spoils this intricate tale that outright sucks you in and it's a story that needs to be experienced to say the least, and also because...we need to talk about the pairing of Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder. This film as I later uncovered, served as the beginning of their comedic partnership and it's easy to see why these two were paired for three more films after this one. They are simply comedy gold when on screen together and it doesn't matter which scene they are in, the chemistry between these two is outright fantastic and the laughs just keep coming once they get rolling and the wonder of seeing these two on screen together, combined with that top notch plot allowed for me to see this motion picture in a whole new light.

Now don't think I forgot about the train stuff for that matter, because that was equally as awesome. In fact, the crash sequence I referred to earlier was ten times more incredible than I recall it being all those years ago, but all that really matters is that revisiting Silver Streak is one of those perfect moments when nostalgia pays off. Because sometimes looking back on a fond memory like this can backfire horribly when it turns out the movie just plain stinks, but in this case, I have newfound respect for this film, for everything it tried to accomplish and its high time that I add this one to my collection. If by chance, you haven't seen this one yet, it's available for rental on Amazon and On Demand and I highly recommend that you do. For one, to enjoy a pair of comedy legends in Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor in their prime and to enjoy a flat-out entertaining film that leaves you smiling long after the credits have come to an end.

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