Tu fais pas le poids, shérif!

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?

The original Smokey and the Bandit is a classic, and it introduced us to one of Jackie Gleason's funniest incarnations, Sheriff Buford T. Justice. I've always been of the ilk that tries not to judge sequels on the originals, but in the case of Smokey and the Bandit II it's impossible.

The plot is essentially the same as the first film, with the more politically-correct elephant replacing 400 cases of good ol' Coors, and for a higher stake - $320,000 more than their original run to Texarkana. While Reynolds, Field, Reed et al are entertaining and do the best with a mediocre repeat of the original plot, the true star here is Gleason. Particularly memorable is the scene where Justice and Junior stop for a toilet break and Junior announces after paying a visit, that his zipper is stuck. What happens next is hilarious, and I won't spoil it.

I agree with one of the other reviews in that the original premise of the characters as defined in the original was completely ignored in this sequel, but maybe this was done on purpose. Maybe the writers felt they were giving the characters more depth. This is the downfall of the movie, that and the script...especially the inclusion of brothers Reggie and Gaylord Justice.

Having said that, it's not completely awful. The saving graces are Gleason, Dom DeLuise as the leading gynaecologist (or gornocolagalist as he pronounces it) in Pompeii (population 23) on a sabbatical to the Deep South, and Mike Henry as the long suffering and equally very dim Justice Junior. The latters' performance, while certainly not Shakespeare material, is exactly what is called for - bewildered and confused.

Everyone who was anyone in the country music industry contributed to the soundtrack, including Jerry Reed once again recording the film's theme (a virtual carbon copy of East/West Bound and Down). Brenda Lee and Don Williams make cameos, as do Burt's buddies Joe Klecko, Terry Bradshaw and Messrs Dudley Remus and Hal Carter.

All in all, disappointing and disowned by hardcore fans of the original, but definitely worth a look for Gleason's contributions. They are what keeps the film going when the rest of it is bogged down and turned into a melodrama of sorts, rather than sticking with the winning formula that made the original such a smash and a classic. Beware though, it's nearly destroyed towards the end with the inclusion of his "twin brothers", but that isn't Gleason's fault - blame the scriptwriters and director. Mixed feelings on this one, guys and gals...

Whatever happened to the Double or nothing jaunt to Boston for some clam chowder? That is what I was expecting. After all the original seemed to segueing to that end. Reynolds was just plain old goofy.

Some of the scenes with Justice were even better than the original, at least until he met up with his brothers. Down hill from there.

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...

... 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.