Smokey And The Bandit
When Hal Needham was awarded an Honorary Oscar shortly before his death in 2013, the stated reason for his bestowment was for his innovative and groundbreaking achievements in the field of movie stuntwork, an undeniable fact for which he had singlehandedly shaped the entire spectrum of daredevil stuntmen forever. However, Needham also later began a notable second career as a straight up movie director, with his style of films perhaps being best described as freewheeling redneck action comedies, usually featuring Burt Reynolds, extensive car chase scenes, and at times fairly funny Southern fried humor. They were also known for receiving scathing notices from most of the respectable movie critics at the time, at which Needham would just laugh and keep on counting the money from his filmsâ usually massive box office takes. Even though his epic, all star Cannonball Run remains the one film to cut across almost all demographics to retain its place as his single best effort, it was this 1977 release (Needhamâs first in the directorâs chair) that cemented the iconic status of his broad yet good natured style of humor. Even more surprisingly, it remains Reynoldsâ best known and most remembered role from the era which is quite the accomplishment considering that he practically ruled over Hollywood as its Undisputed King throughout the 1970s with one major hit film after another, yet it is this one that people think of the most when they remember his run at the top. It was certainly a major box office smash (second only to the original Star Wars in its year of release), but the reasons for its longevity lie perhaps in the fact that it showed Reynolds (in essence just a redneck good ol boy himself who happened to be exceptionally handsome) at his most relaxed not to mention completely and utterly in his element, playing a role that was absolutely tailor made for him in many ways to be him actually playing himself, and the family friendly PG rating certainly didnât hurt things either. Reynolds plays The Bandit, a guy who has become legendary as the âKing Of The Truckersâ, along with being known as a bit of an outlaw who has pissed off many law enforcement personnel in his time despite having never been caught or even pulled over since his evasive driving skills are second to none. Turns out that a number of truckers have been getting busted for transporting several hundred crates of specialized Coors beer east of the Missisippi River, which in real life at that time was illegal and considered to be bootlegging (not to mention having no special license to do so along with not paying any state alcohol taxes). The truth is that a filthy rich father and son duo (played by comedy character actor Pat McCormick and musical legend / part time actor Paul Williams, a guy so talented that he almost seems to be doing this kind of a throwaway part just for the money) who seemingly have nothing better to do with their wealth are actually the ones who are putting the truckers up to do this kind of an illegal run, then they just stand back and laugh when the poor saps get caught while they remain untouchable due to their money. When they approach The Bandit and put the challenge up to him, he laughs it off and says that he can get it done no problem, provided that he gets hooked up with a snazzy and absolutely loaded black Pontiac Trans Am to serve as a âblockerâ (i.e. steer the cops away from the truck) while recruiting his good old trucker buddy Cledus Snow (a.k.a. âThe Snowmanâ) to drive the actual truck itself. As played by Jerry Reed (best known as a country music legend), again itâs no surprise that the laid back singer is most likely playing a variation of himself, but it works just fine as he and Reynolds exhibit perfect chemistry throughout the whole film. After a fairly uneventful trek across the Southern states to pick up the beer in Texarcana, Texas, it is on the way back that trouble starts to brew, first when Bandit picks up a runaway bride in a wedding dress played by Sally Field (Reynoldsâ girlfriend at the time). What makes THIS casting so interesting is the fact that Field (long considered an Oscar darling and stalwart on the award shows circuits), while seeming to be playing a part that is beneath her talents, is CLEARLY cutting loose here just playing a regular girl whose primary traits are just simply being both silly and pretty, and STILL she managed to score a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress In A Comedy. Her romance here with Reynolds comes across as both being casual and unforced, with his country boy culture and her New York City showgirl background strangely mixing well while he still reminds her that it really does depend on whatever part of the country youâre in that determines just how smart you really are. Unfortunately though, she IS a runaway bride, having fled the altar before tying the knot with Junior Justice (former Tarzan actor Mike Henry), the idiot son and deputy to her almost future father in law, Sheriff Buford T. Justice, played in possibly the greatest casting coup of the decade by the legendary Great One himself, Jackie Gleason. And indeed, the role managed to greatly revitalize Gleasonâs career which at the time had seemed to settle down into almost being near semi retirement in Miami Beach while also introducing him for the first time to many younger viewers who would then seek out his earlier work, and to say that Gleason is brilliant here is almost an understatement, actually improvising most of his best dialogue (a sure sign of being well in character) and creating perhaps one of cinemaâs greatest nightmare redneck sheriffs (albeit in a comedic vein) while also not being afraid to throw in little touches of racism as well for added effect. The hilarious irony is that Gleasonâs jilted father of the groom (who apparently had planned and staged the whole wedding as being the biggest social event his county had ever seen) is portrayed as actually being much more pissed off and made to feel disrespected by Field fleeing the church than even his own lumbering idiot son, a complete Neanderthal who just nods a lot and has a penchant for saying the stupidest things nearly all the time (with the only good things about the sequels being the improved writing and chemistry between these two). And so off Gleason goes in hot pursuit, zeroing in on Bandit as being the one to have picked her up and becoming so obsessed with the chase that he crosses county and state lines in order to do so, even as Bandit and Snowman start drawing even more major heat in nearly every county and state they go through, as local cops join in the pursuit with Gleason not all that far behind. While it does have a pretty simple plot that allows for plenty of car stunts and crashes, it is the easygoing, unassuming, and most importantly unpretentious nature of the way all of this material is played that is perhaps the filmâs greatest asset, making it easy to watch and never slowing down with its fast, active pacing. And even then, there ARE still the singular great moments that make this stand apart from the pack in the realm of formulaic 70s films, including Gleasonâs dressing down of a cocky young trooper who doesnât respect his authority (his best acting bit here), Reynoldsâ putdown of Big and Little Enos having matching suits tailored to be a 68 Extra Fat and a 12 Dwarf, Gleason laying the law down to some car stealing punks, Bandit breathlessly jumping across a ravine in the Trans Am, Reynolds and Gleasonâs one quick but funny scene together in a restaurant (with Gleason not knowing who Reynolds is), and perhaps best of all, a convoy of truckers clearing a path for Bandit as well as all of them each paying homage to The Snowman when he follows close behind, as stirring an example of those kind of kindred spirits always having your back as any ever seen in cinema. Of course, the 70s were a time when almost everybody (not just truckers) in the South were driving around with CB radios in their vehicles, with everyone knowing who everybody else was by their âhandlesâ and also managing to stick together whenever times were tough in what was in retrospect most definitely a more innocent and less corrupted time to just simply be a fun loving American in this worldâŚ
9/10