the audience applauded

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Good movie but grossly overrated

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

RELEASED IN 1983 and directed by Hal Needham, "Cannonball Run II" is a car chase comedy about a second Cannonball Run race from the West Coast to the East Coast. The teams include JJ & Victor (Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise), Blake and Fenderbaum (Dean Martin & Sammy Davis Jr.) with other teams involving Jackie Chan & Richard Kiel in a submersible Mitsubishi Starion and Mel Tillis & Tony Danza accompanied by an orangutan. There are at least a dozen other notable co-stars in various roles: Jamie Farr, Telly Savalas, Sid Caesar, Tim Conway, Foster Brooks, Ricardo Montalban , Charles Nelson Reilly, Don Knotts, etc.This is a fun turn-off-your-brain flick with an incredible all-star cast that's worth the price of admission. Unfortunately, the script needed a rewrite with better jokes but the producers obviously didn't want to blow the money. As it is, too much of the humor falls flat, but "Cannonball Run II" is still leagues better than comparable junk like "Smokey and the Bandit Part 3" (1983). And there's a worthwhile sequence where Dom does an amusing Brando impersonation.Moreover, the movie scores good marks on the female front with Catherine Bach jaw-dropping in form-fitting blue spandex during the first half, teamed with her Amazonian-ish partner Susan Anton (who's no slouch in the beauty department). Bach's buttocks looks like it was sculptured by God Himself. In addition, there's Marilu Henner and Shirley MacLaine, who catch a ride with JJ & Victor, masquerading as nuns before revealing their real identities. Maclaine was 48 during shooting but still had a great figure.THE FILM RUNS 1 hour, 48 minutes and was shot in Nevada (Las Vegas, Henderson), Arizona (Tucson, Bisbee) and California (Redondo Beach).GRADE: C

Sheik Abdul ben Falafel (Jamie Farr) needs to win the Cannonball race for the family name and puts up the money. He recruits Dr Nikolas Van Helsing (Jack Elam) in his car. There are the beautiful Jill Rivers (Susan Anton) and Marcie Thatcher (Catherine Bach) in their Lamborghini. JJ McClure (Burt Reynolds) and Victor (Dom DeLuise) pretend to be in the military while Betty (Marilu Henner) and Veronica (Shirley MacLaine) join them pretending to be nuns. There are Jackie Chan and Richard Kiel in the Mitsubishi supercar. Mel Tillis and Tony Danza is driving with an orangutan. Blake (Dean Martin) and Fenderbaum (Sammy Davis Jr.) are back looking to score in different ways.Most of the gang are back. The formula is more of the same. Is that wrong? Not automatically. The original has the fun of discovery and being new. This one is less than even a lesser sequel. The story tries to be too complicated which only detracts from the simple pleasures of watching an orangutan giving the finger. The racing is barely shown. It's a silly franchise and this is stupider than expected. Dom and Burt continue to be an outtake machine but even the post-credit aren't as funny. There is a joy in the original that seems to be missing here. It's more of the same but so much less.

Cannonball run 2 is the worst movie of all time. But you should see this movie because it exposes these arrogant Hollywood "stars" for the no-talent, boring,egotistical, idiots that they really are. Without a great Director like Peter Jackson making them look good they show their true faces.The "stars" of Cannonball run 2 , like Burt Reynolds, Dom Deluise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Junior, Frank Sinatra et al. , think that they are better than the rest of us. Hollywood actors really think that they are God's gift to the Earth. That they constantly laugh at their own "jokes", and the smug look on their faces, show that the "stars" of the Cannonbal trilogy believe that are privileging us with their presence and the the entertainment of our lives. What they do is bore us and disgust us with their arrogant manner and disjointed, boring , tired old routines.You should definitely see Cannonball run 2 and the other 2 Cannonball movies. You won't be entertained but you will know that you are smarter, more talented and more entertaining than these boring, conceited idiots. There is no way you can be more boring , less entertaining, or dumber than the actors in this movie. Hence, you will feel superior to them.I enjoyed seeing these Hollywood legends fall flat on their faces. I definitely enjoyed seeing these super arrogant stars exposed for the no-talent idiots that they really are without a great director like Peter Jackson making them look good. Maybe they should watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy to see how real movies are made and to compare that to their Cannonball run trilogy , the worst trilogy of all time. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is the best movie and trilogy of all time.

From the closing titles it looks like the cast had some fun, and watching the bloopers during the end credits is the only time you'll find yourself laughing for the whole of this awful, overlong sequel.Original producer Albert S. Ruddy and original director Hal Needham both return and co-script with Harvey Miller on what is a big misfire. Brock Yates' first up concept was far too thin to be stretched into a second feature, and the result is a real yawn which produces some downright terrible gags. One of the worst moves was bringing on board the chimp, ala "Every Which Way But Loose". What a drag.Burt Reynolds, Dom De Luise, Sammy Davis Junior, Dean Martin, Jackie Chan and Jamie Farr all return, and they're joined by Telly Savalas, Shirley MacLaine, Frank Sinatra and Jim Nabors. I can't believe there was more after this flop.Sunday, January 12, 1997 - Video