Pedal to the Metal, Smokey's Right on your Tailgate! (Smokey And The Bandit (DVD))

Member Name: berlioz II

Product:	Smokey And The Bandit (DVD)
Date:	27/08/09 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great fun and pleasure that oozes entertainment

Disadvantages: Thin and a bit of a stringed together plotline

Within the vast confines of the action comedy genre of films, there are really only a few that managed to be not only satisfyingly funny, but also that offer a good balance between the humour and the action. One of the most successful marriages of these two styles together is undoubtedly Smokey and the Bandit, the 1977 film starring Burt Reynolds as the dashing and legendary Bo "Bandit" Darville who, along with his trucker partner Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed), outwit the incompetent police force trying to apprehend them, particularly embodied by the unrelenting Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason). Directed and co-written by Hal Needham, Smokey and the Bandit deals with the Bandit accepting a bootlegging run of beer from two comical and pompous Texan millionaires, Big and Little Enos Burdett (Pat McCormick and Paul Williams), with the catch that he has to accomplish the task of transporting all of this from Texarkana to Atlanta in only twenty-eight hours lest he miss getting the large payment this shipment would ensure him. Quickly getting his old friend Cledus in on the caper (along with his eighteen-wheeler), the two begin a race through the country, while dodging - or pushing out of the way - smokies (CB lingo for highway patrolmen) in an effort to get to their destination in time, with "Snowman" driving the truck and the "Bandit" driving a brand-new, black Pontiac Trans Am T-Top. Along the way the Bandit also catches a woman called Carrie with him (Sally Field), fresh from escaping from the wedding of Sheriff Buford T. Justice's idiot son Junior (Mike Henry), resulting in both father and son beginning an unyielding chase through state lines to capture the bootlegger.

Essentially, Smokey and the Bandit is extremely thin on the plot. It literally is just about three people on a run across the highways of the United States, driving fast and trying not to get caught, while being pursued by an unrelenting sheriff. No other story really has a place within the film, and even the obligatory romance aspect between Field's Carrie (aka. "Frog") and Reynolds's the Bandit never really goes beyond cute dallying about amid all the high speed chases. In all likeliness, this would be the perfect film to say it is an empty summer blockbuster that aims to be nothing better than some pure escapist fun for an hour-and-a-half. But there is a big distinction between that of the usual summer blockbuster as we know it today and with this film. Despite its very shallowness, it also manages to do something I don't often see in likewise films: it makes watching it a real pleasure to the point that it doesn't matter that there is really nothing substantial in the film to chew on. The acting performances of the main cast are all enjoyable and fun. Reynolds is cheeky and charming, an instantly likeable guy who has a very easy-going reassurance over himself all the time, knowing that he is too good and crafty for the police to ever be able to catch him.

The other characters fare almost as well, though not quite to the same level. Sally Field is enjoyable enough, though sometimes her likewise cheeky and stubborn bustling about can be slightly annoying from time to time. Jerry Reed's supporting performance as Cledus provides some more "older" veteran experience to counterbalance Reynolds's lightness, while Jackie Gleason as the obsessed sheriff is comical, yet still somewhat imposing (though there's something left from him that doesn't quite elevate this character to the realms of the truly great cinematic bad guys for me, something I attribute to the general comicness of the character's purpose). Also Gleason's constant tirades with his half-witted son are really fun to watch, providing some of the best scenes of comedy in the entire film. Other than the performances themselves, the film's other great point that makes it such a pleasure is the indulgence in the sub-genre of trucking movies, where the Bandit has a vast network of people all across the country - all connected through the ever-prevalent CB systems - willing to help him thwart the schemes of the problematic police officers in many various ways, from catching them in traffic or dawdling with time, to flat-out pushing them off the road. In one memorable scene, the Bandit chances on a convoy of trucks as he is being pursued by a police car and is offered a hiding place boxed smack in between the trucks until the police have passed him by.

Rocket science this film certainly ain't and it certainly doesn't allow you the opportunity to really use your brain a lot, but this is one of those films that is just such an effortless pleasure from start to finish that such considerations don't really matter a lot in the end. Lots of high speed chases mixed with just the right amount of light-hearted humour make Smokey and the Bandit a wonderful piece of popcorn entertainment that remains largely timeless. There are perhaps a few scenes that are somewhat superfluous - such as Cledus getting mixed up in a bar fight that bares little particular point in the story - but largely the film remains tight without seeming too dragged out. The technical aspects aren't anything really special, but the stuntwork is impressive, such as having the Trans Am jump over an old, broken down bridge (with the result, of course, being that the inferior cops can't do the same), while the Sheriff's continuously disintegrating squad car is a great running joke throughout. One further aspect that helps along with the easy-going feel of the movie is the catchy title song written by Bill Justis and Jerry Reed as charting the main people's progress and goals throughout the film ("Westbound and down, eighteen wheels are rollin', we're gonna do what they say can't be done; We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there, I'm westbound, just watch ol' Bandit run."). Ultimately, Smokey and the Bandit remains top-notch entertainment that is guaranteed enjoyment for the whole family, or if you like lots of car chases with a humorous twist, there's little to go wrong here.

© berlioz, 2009

Summary: When the cops are the bad guys