Sadly Over-hyped

Am I Missing Something?

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

This is what people think is a good movie. The story line is awful. It is a comedy write. There nothing funny about this movie. It is not 6.9 it is a 4. There are good actors in this movie I just do not know why there were. They were just wasting there time. Do not see this movie. I am warning you. You don't want to see this movie. Not if you what to see something funny. You will just be wasting your time. If you do not lesion to me a believe everyone else you will regret it. This is a very big waste of money and life is to short.

A pair of southern, good 'ol boy truck drivers are dared into bootlegging beer while being chased by countless police cars on the Fourth of July. Their aided by a runaway bride nicknamed Frog (Field) and cast of colorful characters running interference and keeping tabs on them via CB radio. The only way the plot of Smokey and the Bandit could be more unabashedly American is if someone stuck a firework up their a** while singing the national anthem. Did I mention that our protagonist, the infamous Bandit is played by none other than masculinity incarnate Burt Reynolds?Bandit's main job is being the truck's blocker; i.e. the guy who scouts ahead and distract Smokeys (police) to clear a path for his reluctant partner Snowman (Reed). As such the Bandit drives a 1977 T-Top Pontiac Firebird Trans Am special edition with a painted valve covered V8 engine and a top speed of 135 miles and hour. To complete the ensemble, the Trans Am has gold rims, is painted black and features a golden firebird ascending from the top of one mean looking hood. Smokeys from Texarkana to Georgia try in vain to catch the legendary Bandit but alas the man is too slick, even for the likes of Buford T. Justice (Gleason) a Texas sheriff whose son's bride to be has been picked up by the bristles of Burt Reynold's mustache.The events of Smokey and the Bandit play out like a live-action Road Runner (1966-1973) cartoon with Reynold's tongue firmly placed in cheek. The antics of the smooth-talking Reynolds, the rodeo clownishness of Snowman and the game-for-anything Sally Fields makes for something uniquely satisfying. Like listening to the tit-for-tat dialogue of Oscar Wilde slumming it on an episode of Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985). It goes a long way, especially when you consider you're essentially watching a B-movie with a wafer-thin plot.Perhaps "thin" isn't the word to use; rather it's small and maladroit compared to cheeseball truck-centric originators like Plunder Road (1957) and Red Ball Express (1952). There's not a lot of unnecessary subplots or backstory; heck even the time-clock aspect of the film is frightfully underplayed, choosing instead to focus on mythologizing the star, the car and the CB radio. Yet largely thanks to Jackie Gleason's scenery-chewing pomposity we never get the feeling that this film is anything more than a cheap and fun carnival ride. One whose trajectory is a barrel of laughs and whose ending is surprisingly layered given the time it was released. But who cares; stuntman turned director Hal Needham certainly doesn't and neither do the throngs of fans who have made this film a populist classic. I say let the good times roll!

Plot; Two drivers agree to bootleg a load of beer 1,800 miles in 28 hours only to find their mission complicated by a runaway bride and a fiercely determined sheriff who happens to be her would-be father in law.Released during the late 70s CB radio craze here in the States, 'Smokey and the Bandit' would be easy to write off as a disposable byproduct of that short-lived fad, but that would be unfair. It ain't exactly high art to be sure, but it is a skillfully directed bit of automotive ballet enhanced greatly by charming and energetic performances from its leads. Burt Reynolds was the biggest box office star in America at the time, and it's easy to see why. He's got an innate likability and an effortless charm that never seems forced. On top of being impossibly cute, Sally Field is Reynolds' equal in every measure, and the two share a wonderful chemistry. Joined by singer Jerry Reed (who delivers what may be the best performance of the lot), they form as likable a trio of heroes as you're ever going to meet. But a hero is only as good as his villain, and the Bandit has a doozy in the form of Sheriff Buford T. Justice. Thanks largely to a tour de force performance from the legendary Jackie Gleason, Justice steals every scene he's in and makes for a great comic foil for our heroes.Fun, fast-paced and good-natured, 'Smokey and the Bandit' is the proto Fast and Furious that easily hangs with and often exceeds its sleek 21st century progeny.

I remember first watching this movie as a kid with my father. What's not to love? Action, comedy, and romance. Best of all, fast cars. I had never really seen the appeal of Burt Reynolds until I recently re-watched this film recently. I can definitely see why people loved him. It definitely is one of my biggest guilty pleasures.Gleason's portrayal of Sheriff Bufford T. Justice is brilliant. He has some of the best lines in the whole movie. Sally Fields makes a great run away bride. I love it when a movie comes together with a great comedy and doesn't take themselves too serious. A great guilty pleasure in life. Don't miss it.