Smokey and the Bandit II

All in all, a childishly fun revisiting of the characters and story. It'll help if you're already a big fan of cowboys, big trucks, and car jumps, and, of course, the first film.

A lot of drama went on behind the scenes during the shooting, and at times can be glimpsed on the screen, including Sally's and Burt's strained relationship, Jackie Gleason's health, and Hal Needham's direction.

The sign in front of the church wonderfully demonstrates the level of humor throughout this movie:

"Texarkana Reformed, United, Evangelical, Fundamental Church Of God, The Twelve Apostles And Assorted Saints"

... which is when an unexpected hit with a big charismatic star, a simple idea, known supporting stars, and a moderate budget scores big at the box office and even with critics. The urge to make a sequel is irresistible. However, mistakes are made, bunches of cameos are crammed in and gone are the delightful and anonymous extras that made the original seem like an original road picture, there is a need to go to silly and even gross-out jokes, the plot is redundant, and the entire film just seems to scream "Look at us! Aren't we just wonderful in this wonderful film?"...and the answer is "No, you are not".

What makes this not sink below a 4/10 is that Burt and Sally are always good together, Burt is a charismatic film presence even in a bad film, and Jackie Gleason has still got it 25 years after "The Honeymooners" made early TV history.

The original Smokey and the Bandit was a monster of a film, finishing behind only Star Wars at the Box Office in 1977. It was one of the last movies seen by Elvis, who arranged a private viewing due to it's popularity. I myself, barely a teenager, saw it several times in the theater.

Now, when a sequel was announced, we all just knew it would pick up where the first one left off and follow the gang's exploits up to Boston and back to Georgia in 48 hours with clam chowder for the Enoses. But no, the producers and writers chose to create an entirely new exploit, which is basically a rehash of the route traveled in the first, but going in the other direction and pretty much at the speed limit! First off, the Enoses could have hired anyone for a lot less money, as obviously time was not of the essence. Afterall, after they accept the job, considerable time is spent getting the Bandit back into shape! Or did the writers expect us to believe it only took one day? They may have, considering they also threw in a scene where Burt, during his rehab outruns a racehorse. And what were they thinking having Carrie marrying Junior again? Sheriff Justice said at the end of the first he wasn't giving up his pursuit of Bandit, so he didn't need this motivation, again.

So, obviously, instead of a good ole' boy movie like the first, we have a cartoon with humans! See Jackie Gleason utter sombitch 6 dozen times! Hear Dom Deluise spout nonsensical Italian phrases! Watch truckers run over police cruisers with no regards to consequences (like causing lawman's death)! Become aghast at Jerry Reed turning into a tough guy life coach. Experience Burt Reynolds trying to show he has a heart! Look at Sally Field's expression of disdain for her agent! And don't miss the ending blooper reel!

This was the beginning of the end for Burt as he started becoming a caricature of himself. People began to view his movies as just an excuse for Burt and his buddies to get together and party while not having to bother themselves with any strenuous acting.

OK, I'm kidding. Hey, listen, this film is no strain to the synapses. It's another Hal Needham carwreck fest wrapped up in a really dumb plot that at times tries too hard. However, I find an odd entertainment value in this genus of southern cheese. An aging professional highway show-off, an even more annuated hick sheriff in hot pursuit, an oddly swift and resilient Trans Am, a very talented yet dumbed down leggy sidekick, a country singer turned epitomal southern truck driver, Dom Deluise, and an elephant. Add plenty of incompetent law enforcement officers and marlboro reds and you have the makings of one fine redneck cross-country chase movie. I don't know why but I actually enjoyed this. It's really about the stunts I think and when it comes to Hal Needham you never can have too many car crashes. In the spirit of Cannonball Run and the Dukes of Hazzard there is an odd appeal in watching good IL boys tear up backroads to the tune of Hank Williams and police sirens. And of course there's always a way out leaving a pile of police cruisers in the dust behind. It's an action flick and as such you shouldn't expect it to be anything other than what it is; it's just fun to watch. You may notice it does have some very talented actors so it begs the "what were you thinking doing this film?" question. Perhaps. But on face value it's all about the car chase. And who doesn't love a good car chase?

It's fairly obvious that Smokey and the Bandit II was filmed directly before (or during) the making of Canonnonball Run. Obviously they had a lot of well-known faces from the CR movie, and they had them stick around for some S&tB shots, then built a story around them as best they could. If you look at each of the cameos, you see they have no tie to the storyline, all they have in common is Reynolds and Gleason. If you want to see a much better Burt Reynolds / Dom Delouis movie, rent CR (it's hokey too, but not quite as bad as this).

Movies like this get made all the time, where a very basic plot line is sketched out, and then the rest is filled in as the writers on the set come up with it. When good ideas get scarce, they try to fill the gaps with gags on a common theme. But like any good joke, it's only funny when it is at least semi-plausible. That's what made the original Smokey and the Bandit so much fun. But S&tB II is just TOO unbelievable to be funny any more. It might appeal to 12 year olds, but the original audience of 16-25 year olds just don't find them funny.

All the negativeness of the above aside, S&tB II is still better than part III. I didn't think it could get worse, but...