The film co-stars Richard Pryor, Michael Lerner, Danny Aiello, Redd Foxx (in his last film appearance before his death in 1991), Della Reese, and Murphy's older brother Charlie. The film was released theatrically on November 17, 1989, by Paramount Pictures. The film tells the story of "Sugar" Ray and Vernest "Quick" Brown as a team running a nightclub in the late 1930s in Harlem while contending with gangsters and corrupt police officials.