Passing Inspection

In Tri-Star’s comedy release, “See No Evil, Hear No Evil,” which opens Friday, actors Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor respectively portray a deaf and a blind man who must find a killer by using their other senses. Otherwise, they’re the ranking suspects in a murder. Sounds like an easy target for possible charges of exploitation. But early reports from organizations for the deaf and blind indicate otherwise.

Kim Webb, a clinical supervisor at the New York League for the Hard of Hearing, said that Wilder approached the organization for assistance with his role. “We ran him through a battery of tests that we give people with hearing impairment,” Webb said. “The producers sent us the script and we concluded first that it was speech readable--in other words understandable to the deaf.

“It was also decided that the portrayal was not derogatory. We’re not overly sensitive about showing an embarrassing moment and how a deaf person deals with it. The concern is creating awareness that will prompt people with problems to seek assistance.”

Similarly, at Los Angeles’ Braille Institute, Pryor took orientation and mobility tests.

“We got the script and when we got to the part where Pryor’s character drives a car, we got a little nervous,” said Paul Porelli, assistant director of communications. “But in the context of the overall story, we decided if unbelievable, it was not insulting. Actually, we made very few requests for changes and most were minor technical things which were honored.”

Porelli said that members of the institute recently previewed the film and were most amused by a scene that was not in the original script: While groping a female villainess, Pryor explains, “It’s OK, I learned this at the Braille Institute.”

Benefits for Braille in New York and the Blind Children’s Institute in L.A. take place this week.