Review of Smokey and the Bandit (1977) by David L — 03 Sep 2008

What can I say about this film that hasn't been said already? One of my favorites as a kid and I watched it anytime it was on HBO ( which was alot) but really how can you not love a movie that even Alfred Hitchcock called 'a guilty pleasure'? Smokey and the Bandit may not be Burt Reynolds, Sally Fields or Jackie Gleason's best movie - but it certainly will be one that they will be remembered for. The plot breakdown is fairly simple: Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed are trucking partners that are bet they can't deliver 400 cases of beer across two states in under 24 hours. Since that type of delivery is illegal (and incidentally, so is how Jerry Reed drives) Burt Reynolds distracts the "Smokies" by breaking every traffic law in sight with his '76 Trans Am. Add to that Sally Field as the runaway bride who tags along and Jackie Gleason as the jilted-father-in-law/'Smokey' and you can see why this movie was second-highest grossing movie in 1977 (beaten out by Star Wars).

This is not an intelligent movie. There are no Oscar-caliber performances and no brilliant direction. It doesn't change the fact that Smokey and the Bandit remains fun to watch and the lines are still funny after the fifth time you've seen it or the fifteenth. The car chases are filmed well; you'll notice that the car crashes are surpassed only a few years later by John Landis' The Blues Brothers.

Smokey and the Bandit is one of the best Southern Rock/muscle car/beer and pizza movies you can rent or catch on TBS (although you miss most of Jackie Gleason's dialogue if you catch it on cable.) Check it out!