De miedo también se muere

Directed by, and starring, Burt Reynolds, this is comedy about a salesman learning he has only months to live is in Woody Allen territory. The script has joke upon joke, few of them demanding to begin with, but then embellished by bits of business that are a little distracting.

Well, I'm giving the elements credit because it's not that easy to make a comedy about having a terminal illness. Dabney Coleman managed to inject a few funny boluses into "Short Time" but "The Bucket List" was a slapdash affair providing an excuse for two older (but sometimes magnificent) actors to do the things we wish we had done. I almost hate to say it but arguably the most entertaining comedy about dying is the Rock Hudson and Doris Day film, "Send Me No Flowers."

Burt's direction of "The End" is function and lapses only into one easy cliché -- a man wakes up sweating and thrusts his goggle-eyed face into the camera. He also drags out amusing moments. The script by Jerry Belson is fast and touches the bases. It may depend a bit much on obvious jokes -- "I told you not to cuss, Godammit." But it more than makes up for such weaknesses.

Eg., Burt goes to make his last confession. The priest is Robby Benson, who looks about fifteen years old. Burt uneasily explains that he has a little difficulty calling him "Father" so the priest suggests Burt just call him Dave. In the confessional, Burt begins with, "Bless me, Dave, for I have sinned." And when the priest isn't regaling Burt with his OWN confession about lust and ambition, he flosses his teeth while listening to Burt talk about infidelity. Burt is doing his best to get organized but there is the intermittent "pluck" and "plick" from the other side of the confessional window.

I really like Burt Reynolds. He's the least prepossessing movie star who ever breathed. Confident enough to be self deprecating in public despite his dark handsomeness. Cary Grant would never have made fun of his own ouvre the way Burt did at an Academy Award presentation by portentously rattling off a string of his own hits, like "Navajo Joe" and "Sam Whiskey."

He can handle serious drama well and with the proper plot he excels, as in "Deliverance." But his ordinariness doesn't seem to work well with comedy. What you get without cultivation is lowbrow slapstick that sometimes is more silly than witty. As a performer Burt has a certain range but comedy broaches the perimeter of possibilities.

Thanks to my taping this on VHS 20 years ago (from network prime time, with the hard language dubbed over), our whole family was able to see it over the years. Even the kids loved it. We still do. While Burt Reynolds is well-known for macho action, this offbeat black comedy gives us one of his best characters: the fatally-ill Sonny is a selfish, shady man-child who can't maintain a relationship, but thanks to a clever script by Jerry Belson, Reynolds is able to make him funny, and at times, even poignant. He's surrounded by talented cast of veterans including Joanne Woodward, Pat O'Brien, Myrna Loy, Carl Reiner, Sally Field, and an unforgettable Dom DeLuise as the most lovable psychotic you'll ever see. Do not miss Sonny's early scene in the confessional with the wide-eyed, newbie-priest Robby Benson, where Reynolds delivers one of the unsung 'great movie quotes': "Bless me, Dave, for I have sinned." This is one of Burt's best comedies.

Burt Reynolds was one of the great action and dramatic stars of the 20th Century. He was also hysterically funny. This movie about a very serious topic-a man dying and coming to terms with the Knowledge-is very funny. Dom Deluise is hysterical and a great partner for Reynolds. Sally Field plus the straight role with Grace. The supporting cast is very good-Norman Fell as the Dr and Robby Benson as the young priest. The comedic direction is masterful in the underrated, now classic comedy. This holds up well.

I saw this about twenty years ago and remembered liking it. Came across a negative mention of it online recently which led me to looking at reviews and seeing the general opinion of it isn't that high. But the same is true for most Burt Reynolds movies I like so I decided to give it a shot and see if my opinion had changed since the first viewing. The short answer is no, it hasn't. I enjoyed the movie still but I can see why others might not. It's a particular style of humor that Reynolds is arguably not suited for. Think more Albert Brooks or Elliott Gould. But it's got plenty going for it, if you can make it past the first ten or fifteen minutes where Reynolds' character's whining is very annoying. The biggest plus is that the supporting cast full of recognizable faces is good. There are also bits of weirdness that keep it interesting like Robby Benson's childish priest or the bizarre scene where the camera lingers on Sally Field's body double's cleavage. Reynolds directed by the way. It's a dark comedy about an unlikable neurotic facing death starring an actor most known for "good old boy" comedies. But it's not the disaster you might think. Ringing endorsement!

This was, without a doubt, the most hilariously comic performance that the brilliant Dom DeLuise had on film. When, in the midst of a depressed "woe is me" rant, he looks up and asks "Do you think we'll ever switch to the metric system?", well, it just don't get no funnier than that. His botched suicide attempts, as well as his eagerly wanting to help Burt with HIS suicide, oh heck, just go rent it yourself! You'll love it.

Burt was brilliant too. He holds a thin line between wanting to die and wanting to live that is believable. It's a real shame that this movie often gets me blank stares when I tell others about it. More people know about Four Weddings and a Funeral (a movie so horrid that I still refuse to watch another Andie McDowell flick) than this quiet classic. (sigh)