Smokey and the Bandit Part 3

Smokey and the Bandit (part one, that is) was a really funny movie with a great Burt Reynolds. But this time around, almost everything goes wrong. Almost...

Because there is this one scene at the beginning of the movie as Jackie Gleason spoofs 'Patton', and I loved that part (as I love Patton), but that's about all the joy this movie gave me...

Cledus 'the snowman' is the bandit in this one, as Burt Reynolds turned it down (and rightfully so), but he's so awful it's hard to describe. If he'd said 'I am the bandit, I am the bandit' one more time I would've slapped him in the face.

As everybody deserves a good slapping after making this one. One question left: What were they thinking?

2/10.

The big question here is whether a "Smokey and the Bandit" movie can be done without Burt Reynolds and Sally Field. I guess that's a yes, but you really shouldn't try it. "Part 3" has Buford T. Justice once again tailing the Bandit (now Jerry Reed behind the wheel) and at least they go back to the car chases; that, and the Knight Rider Firebird looks good on the road. It'd be easy to say that Reed is much better as a side player, but really, he didn't have anything to work with here. These gags are terrible.

Urban legend tells of a workprint with Jackie Gleason playing both roles ("Smokey IS the Bandit!") and that I'd like to see. The potential for irony speaks for itself. But this TV-grade movie is a weak effort.

4/10

Deary me. Where do I begin? I usually have no problem watching stupid films. They give you an opportunity to just sit back, relax and enjoy the fun. Except when they are so bad that no matter how hard you try to enjoy it, you still wish there was a noose that you could use to end the misery of it all. The dialogue in this film was unbelievable. Anyone who found it funny is in urgent need of a funnybone transplant. The car chase scenes are endless, and very very lame. I don't think there is much more to say except that this film should be avoided at all costs. It is an insult to humanity, and if I were one of the actors i would quickly immigrate to the north pole and wear a sack over my head in complete and utter shame.

Call me weird, but I love bad movies. I just get a kick out of seeing what a couple of million dollars really means to Hollywood. In this case, it doesn't mean much. Smokey 3 is one of the biggest stinkers ever produced by a major studio. Besides asking the obvious questions that this movie poses (Why would "The Great One" actually star in this disaster and how could Universal create, release, and advertise this movie and still be able to sleep at night?), you have got to wonder one thing...where in the heck did all of these ramps come from? One example (out of too many to count) is how Jerry Reed (Snowman posing as Bandit) actually jumps his Firebird out of his garage...from a dead stop...huh?? The plot is putrid, the supporting cast is horrible (Jerry Reed used to be lovably annoying as Snowman...all he can do here is utter obnoxious one-liners and triple-speak while hooting and hollering about getting to pretend to be Burt Reynolds), and there is actually a point during all this mess when the pity for Gleason lifts, and you actually want something to fall from the sky onto Buford T. Justice and end it all. But watch this movie...I beg you...this is the worst bad movie ever made, and it is worth the rental money to spend 1 and 1/2 hours being embarrassed for the families and friends of everyone who had a hand in this disaster.

Somewhere in a vault is the original cut of this and I'd love to see it.

The released film is very obviously a re-edited mess.

Jerry Reed was brought in to remake the Gleason as bandit scenes, Sadly at no point does he seem to be the Snowman of the first 2 movies

The plot is really just scenes sown together to fill the run time, massive gaps of logic and story.

Simply a poor film but what was the 1st cut like...Sadly we'll never know.