Stroker Ace

Ever notice how in his later movies Burt Reynolds' laugh sounds like screeching brakes?

Must have been hanging out with Hal Needham too much.

And from the looks of "Stroker Ace", WAY too much.

Can you believe this was based on a book? Neither could I, but it was. And probably not a best-seller, I'll wager.

Burt's another good-old-boy in the NASCAR circuit who hitches up with Beatty as a fried chicken magnate with designs on his team. Anderson provides what love interest there is and Nabors does his umpteenth Gomer Pyle impression as faithful mechanic/best friend Lugs.

A lot of people here are friends of Burt's or Hal's. Others must have needed the work. And even real NASCAR drivers get in on the act, and look to have more talent than those with SAG cards.

As far as laughs go, Bubba Smith (pre-"Police Academy") gets them as Beatty's chauffeur. And Petersen, in full Elvira mode, gets lots of appreciative leers as a lady who wants to get to know Lugs real well. REAL WELL.

It's a shame that Burt threw away as much time and effort in a film like "Stroker Ace" where it didn't matter whether he bothered to act or not. They didn't bother to write a character for him, why bother to act?

Two stars. Mostly for Petersen, and for the out-takes at the end. Now THEY'RE funny.

When Bewitched was running on television half of the plots involved Darrin's job where he and Larry Tate every week contended with yet another egotistical company president. The plot of Stroker Ace hearkens back to those days of Bewitched and it has Burt Reynolds as a NASCAR driver doing everything possible to get out from under a contract with a sponsor who's a blithering idiot.

Although Burt certainly gets in his innings in Stroker Ace, especially seeing him in a chicken suit and driving his car in a race in one, the best one in Stroker Ace by far is Ned Beatty. Beatty got an Academy Award nomination for playing the all powerful, malevolent media mogul in Network. Here he takes the same character and plays it for laughs and he's absolutely hysterical. Beatty owns a fried chicken company and he could easily have been one of McMahon&Tate's clients from Bewitched.

If outrageous overacting lead by Ned Beatty isn't reason enough to watch Stroker Ace, than certainly the curvaceous Loni Anderson should do. Loni is giving out with her best Marilyn Monroe imitation as Beatty's advertising person who thinks that what Beatty is asking of Reynolds is tasteless and stupid. Of course she falls for Burt on the screen and in real life.

I'm not a NASCAR fan, but I don't think you have to be to watch Stroker Ace and enjoy it. I have however become a fan of the Professional Bull Riders in recent years and they have their sponsors set up in a similar fashion as does NASCAR for its various drivers. I don't think the PBR has any sponsors as outrageous as Ned Beatty. If this film was about the PBR I can just see Beatty insisting to Guilherme Marchi that he ride a bull in a chicken suit or something equally bizarre.

The film got bad reviews and I can't see why. It's not sophisticated comedy to be sure, but it's not all that bad. And Ned Beatty alone is worth seeing and appreciating Stroker Ace.

Stroker Ace,a film directed by Hal Needham (the same director of such souped-up hits,like Smokey and The Bandit and Hooper),is a real surprise for the audience!it offers a lot of fun and laughs,all of this accomplished by dangerous and incredible scenes of action,which make Speed look like a boring movie!the character was made for Burt Reynolds,and combines with his own personality and way of interpretation!it's a nice movie,that everybody should discover,specially because it symbolizes a time when what really counted in the box-offices was the protagonist's charisma,and not stupid special effects!good times,when Burt was the best...and this time is going to be back!

You sort of have to like these Hal Needham/Reynolds movies to like this.

The plot is weak. The dialog is mildly amusing. I found the whole chicken sponsor thing pretty funny though.

Loni Anderson fans might enjoy her ridiculous role as the naive PR person for the chicken chain

There's cleavage shown from time to time which some will appreciate

I have read the book, and the movie is quite different than the book. The book is a series of stories, possibly tall tales, loosely based on the experiences of the writers in racing. It's mostly about sex, heavy drinking and wrecking/racing cars. I enjoyed it a lot. The book is better than the movie IMO

I think Nabors and Reynolds have some funny interactions.

Auto racing is rather limited, probably due to cost. But you do get to see some vintage cars and racing footage

Just remember this is a silly pointless movie, in the spirit of movies like Smokey and the Bandit and maybe you will enjoy it like I do

Burt Reynolds goes through the motions as an absurdly-named stock car driver in this dull, deeply unfunny 'comedy' directed by long-time buddy Hal Needham. Nonsensical plot concerns Reynold's efforts to get out of a sponsorship contract (what, he doesn't want to be on a competitive team?) while trying to woo Loni Anderson's PR flack/Sunday school teacher, over the course of a seemingly endless racing season.

Big hair, cornpone accents and superficial performances abound, with particularly annoying turns from Jim Nabors (as Reynolds' crew chief) and Ned Beatty (as a fried chicken magnate). Only potential points of interest are the period racing scenes (including some of the top NASCAR drivers), and the vast cleavage displayed in the few female roles: Anderson, Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson, Debbie Casperson and the legendary Linda Vaughn.