L'Équipée du Cannonball

Before there were Police Academy movies there were these two Cannonball Run films where a whole lot of people did a movie with absolutely no story to it, but looked like they were having a lot of fun. If you could call it starring Burt Reynolds and long time pal Dom DeLuise because they have the most screen time.

It's clear that this cast was enjoying all the overacting they were allowed to indulge in. Except possibly for Roger Moore who rather drolly underplayed his own image as an action hero, James Bond, the Saint, etc. Reynolds did too, to a lesser extent.

You've got to love Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. as a pair of fake priests who copied Richard Nixon's dirty play book in their effort to win The Cannonball Run which when you come right down to it is just a cross country drag race. Reynolds and DeLuise are using an ambulance, the better to fool the Smokeys that they meet traveling west. And for insurance they have a kidnapped patient in Farrah Fawcett and one bat crazy doctor in Jack Elam. Between Elam and DeLuise I have to say it's a tossup as to who overacts the most.

Like The Police Academy movies, the Cannonball Run films are dumb, witless, stupid, puerile, and you will laugh your derrière off.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Does it offer a compelling plot? No. Is it just plain fun? Yes!

Another title in the era of entertainment that was best described as "Fast cars, fast crashes, and fast women". The era that produced such films as Smokey and the Bandit, Convoy, and the Dukes of Hazzard TV show. The era that was pointed more at the blue-collar working class than the white-collar office class or the critic.

It certainly wouldn't hold up to Lawrence of Arabia, Citizen Kane, or any other masterpiece, but it isn't trying to be that. It's just trying to be a fast, fun film that loads of people can enjoy.

Instead of a 5-star wine with a 5-star steak in a 5-star restaurant, this film's more of a greasy burger and fries in a roadside dinor. They both cannot be equaled objectively, but they're both 10/10 stars in their own right.

If I could represent the height of American film, I might choose Casablanca, Citizen Kane, or Ben-Hur. If I could choose a film to show the height of American freedom, to show somebody who wasn't American what American freedom and liberty feels like, I'd choose The Cannonball Run.

The Cannonball Run has been vilified by many critics over the years but I love this movie and have been watching it ever since I was little. This movie is what happens when a bunch of movie stars who just happen to be close friends in real life decide to make a movie just for fun. The plot is simple enough, race from one end of the country to the other for a million dollars and avoid the law on the way. The cast is jammed with big names and just about everyone in the movie that has a speaking part is a star of some stature. This movie is simply great fun and has a lot in common with the rest of director Hal Needham's films,i.e. Smokey and the Bandit. I can't really say that this film is full of great acting because the entire cast horses around through the whole movie. Jackie Chan makes his first appearance in a American movie with this film and both Hal Needham and writer Brock Yates have cameos. Don't expect a lot in the way of plot or acting or effects or anything like that and just enjoy the ride. The outtakes at the end of this and Cannonball Run II are hilarious and it makes it more fun for me anyway to know that this movie was just like a big meeting of old friends. Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. are great as Blake and Fenderbaum respectively. Burt Reynolds and Dom Deluise anchor this film (they're the main characters)and the give and take between these two make them one of the best comedy teams I have ever seen. Bottom Line: Buy this flick, drag it out every once in a while, and have fun watching it with family or friends. A truly fun movie to watch.

This film is best summarized as a live action version of Wacky Races. Burt Reynolds leads on all star cast of freaky drivers competing in a no-holds-barred race competition called the Cannonball Run. The standouts in this film are Roger Moore who seems to enjoy spoofing his own James Bond character, Jackie Chan as a kung-fu foreign race champ, Jack Elam as the twisted doctor riding along in Burt's ambulance, and Jamie Farr as a mad sheik trying to show Islamic superiority by defeating his opponents.

This is not a movie to be taken seriously, especially with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. cruising around dressed up like priests. There are a lot of good stunts and chase scenes in this movie, as well as a long brawl towards the end with all the Cannonballers against a gang of bikers, led by Peter Fonda!

To quote the Brain Gremlin from Gremlins 2: "Check it out one time, won't you!" You won't be disappointed.

Burt Reynolds made a fortune in this area with these goofy "chase" movies (this and Smoky and The Bandit plus all the sequels). They featured a an irreverent '70s attitude toward about anything decent with an emphasis on a sleazy atmosphere, all covered up with a lot of humor, and they worked. They worked because they were fast-moving generally fun movies to watch.....certainly not any great works of art.

Cannonball Run had an all-star cast of Reynolds, his good buddy Dom DeLuise, Farah Fawcettt, Jack Elan, Roger Moore, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Farr, Jackie Chan, on and on....pretty amazing.

Reynolds, of course, was Mr. Cool/Mr. Macho.....at least in his eyes. Fawcett and Barbeau meant beauty and boobs whom all men - especially dimwitted cops which Hollywood loved to feature - drooled over. The Japanese were made to look stupid (this was pre-PC days) as were priests (nothing's changed there with filmmakers). The movie is filled with really profound statements such as, "Why do we take all these risks? Oh, just for the hell of it." Yes, words to live by.

Yet, as dumb as this movie can be at times, is does provide a lot of laughs and speaking of that, DeLuise's laugh always made everyone do the same. Sometimes the best part of these films were the outtakes at the end with DeLuise cracking up and Reynolds slapping him!