Smokey and the Bandit.
Universal Home Entertainment
Smokey & The Bandit is a weak concept that worked because of the charm, and chemistry, of it’s cast. Smokey finds Burt Reynolds at his best. Along for the ride is a surprisingly good Jerry Reed, Sally Fields and Jackie Gleason. Gleason is fantastic as a Texas Sheriff determined to catch the Bandit (Reynolds). He is given some great lines and he delivers them like only the Great One can.
For those of you that are unfamiliar with the flick, here is the scoop:
A rich man makes a bet to The Bandit that he can’t go from Atlanta, to Texarkana, pick up a truckload of Coors beer, and bring it back in 28 hours. Of course taking it across state lines is bootlegging, which is a no-no. The Bandit enlists the help of his pal, the Sandman (Reed), and away they go. Bandit picks up a bride (Sally Fields) fleeing her wedding. The Father of the Groom is Sheriff Buford t. Justice (Gleason). Sheriff Justice is unhappy about this turn of events and decides to pursue the errant bride. Chaos ensues.
This is a Sunday afternoon flick. Something you watch when you are feeling stupid and need to be amused. As I said, the charm of Burt and co. makes this fun ride. A word of caution, the main song, by Jerry Reed, will be stuck in your head for some time.
As far as special editions go, this really isn’t that special. There are two features on this disc, one of which is CB lingo. If this was 1983, I might have cared. Some of the people watching this won’t even know what a CB is. The other feature is a little more interesting. It talks about how the film came about and does include some interviews with a few of the people involved.
Jeremy Lynch
