1977
DIRECTOR: Hal Needham
NOT A PART OF OUR COLLECTION
May Contain Spoilers!
Will we be adding this to our collection? NO
This Burt Reynolds classic was a staple of the festive season during the 1980’s, as the pairing of Reynolds and Sally Field, a runaway bride who finds herself on the highway with the infamous Bandit (Reynolds), was a hot ticket. ‘Smokey Bear’ (Jackie Gleason), a Texan Sheriff and father of the jilted groom is in hot and comedic pursuit and the road movie to set the tone of all 70’s and 80’s road movies is under way.
But even when as a kid this, was on TV and something of a big deal in its day, there nothing on offer here for anyone who isn’t already a fan of the sub-genre. Bert Reynolds is never as good as he was in Deliverance (1972) or his comeback in Boogie Nights (1998) but is famous for his outrageous and irritating role here. The Bandit is just that, a crook. He might be cool in his defiance of authority but I just find him to be a comic book version of a very nefarious character and one which Miss Fields should have thought twice about associating with.
It’s fun, I suppose if you like the 70’s/80’s hick humour but for me, I just don’t feel it any more. The entire film falls flat and is as far from a classic as Smokey was from being a real and plausible Sheriff!
Unless you were there from the beginning, I would avoid.
