Mustache Marathon Movie 4: Smokey and the Bandit


East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’.  We’re gonna do what they say can’t be done.  We’ve got a long way to go, and a short time to get there.  I’m east bound just watch ol’ Bandit run.

If you don’t know those lyrics or that song, what have you done with your life?  They’re from the classic film, Smokey and the Bandit.  The movie starts Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, and Sally Field.  The basic plot is that Burt Reynolds’ character, The Bandit, makes a bet with a father and son that he can get to from Atlanta, Georgia to Texarkana, Texas, and back in less than 28 hours while hauling some Coors.  He gets his buddy Snowman to drive the truck while he uses a Trans Am to lure the police away from the truck.  Along the way, he meets a runaway bride and begins to be chased by a bumbling Texas Sheriff.  Basically, Smokey and the Bandit is a movie made to showcase driving.

Boy does this movie showcase the driving.  The director was Hal Needam, I think.  The guy is a former stuntman who used his talents to create a movie filled with driving stunts.  The rest of the movie is filler for the driving that The Bandit does throughout.  From jumping bridges, to quick turns, to dodging objects on the road, the driving is mastered in a way that only few movies and shows did at the time.

The performances by the actors in this movie were fairly good.  Jackie Gleason can’t be beat as his bigoted Sheriff who calls people nonsense names like tit turd.  What is a tit turd?  Jackie Gleason mays up this characters eccentricities so well that you won’t ever find a police officer that bumbles quite as much as he does with his son.  Buford T Justice.  That’s the sheriff’s name.  How can you not like that name?

The other stand out performance is Burt Reynolds as The Bandit.  1970s Burt really has no competition for cheesy coolness.  Especially when he has the mustache.  That ‘stache is one of my favourites.  From the mustache to the way he speaks, all the way down to his laugh.  I don’t know if Burt Reynolds was playing The Bandit or Burt Reynolds is The Bandit.  It seemed so perfect that it could have been Burt playing himself on screen.

I know how tiring seeing people write the same things all the time can be.  That’s why I’m going to end my Smokey and the Bandit write up really soon.  I want to add that there are two sequels and a few made for tv movies.  I’ve never seen the made for tv movies, but the sequels aren’t as fun as this one.  The second film is still kind of entertaining, but the third is a mess.  Oh well.  Sometimes shit happens.

If you want to read up on the other Mustache Movie Marathon films that I’ve done write ups for so far, here are the links to them.
Super Troopers: http://jurassicgriffin.blogspot.com/2011/11/mustache-marathon-movie-1-super.html
The Adventures of Robin Hood: http://jurassicgriffin.blogspot.com/2011/11/mustache-marathon-movie-2-adventures-of.html
Road House:  http://jurassicgriffin.blogspot.com/2011/11/mustache-marathon-movie-3-road-house.html

That brings me to the end.  There are still five more movies left in the marathon.  I don’t know what’s up next, like usual.  You’ll just see something pop up.  See you later, reader people.

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