The basics
Smokey and the Bandit is an American film which came
out in 1977. This was Hal Needham’s directorial debut with a film that he wrote
himself, at this point in time he was one of the highest paid stuntman and
stunt coordinators. This film is about cars, trucks, CB radios, sticking it to
authoritarian figures, romance and just some good old boys doing what they do
best.
What is this film about?
Once upon a time there was a trucking legend called
Bo Darville, aka The Bandit. He is soon confronted by a father and son tycoon
team, big and little Enos who have a challenge for him and $80,000 if he does
it. They are having a party and they need some beer, about 400 cases of Coors
should do it and they need him to go get it. To do this he will have to get the
beer from Texarkana, Texas and bring it back to Atlanta, Georgia in 28 hours
and that’s not even the main problem. The main problem is that it is illegal to
transport beer east of Texas. With his partner Cledus, The
Snowman; in the truck and Bandit in a Trans Am (car) being the run blocker, distracting
the cops or Smokey’s they set off and get those 18 wheels a rolling.
My views on it
Back in the 60’s and 70’s a new genre started to
form as it started to branch away from its parent genre ‘action’ and this new genre
was the car film. Great action films started to come out around this time that
started to use more popular cars and throw in a few good chase scenes as well. In
most of these films the car itself became just as big and famous as the actors
using it. For example we have the Ford Mustang in Bullitt (1968), the Dodge
Challenger in Vanishing Point (1971) and who could forget Mini Coopers in The
Italian Job (1969). So it seemed that the car film was only going to be a
subgenre to action but not for long, because then came Smokey and The Bandit.
Smokey and The Bandit was one of the first major car films to come out that wasn’t
an action movie, it was a comedy, and due to this it severed the link the car
film had to action and for once made it stand on its own two feet. This is one
of the reasons this film is great as it was one of the pioneers to fully cement
this genre.
Due to this film being a comedy and not an action it
brought a new fresh look at the classic ‘chase scene’ itself. Because it wasn’t
an action film the chase scenes (which there is plenty of) did lose some of their
thrill. They were less dramatic and less intense then their predecessors but
for what it lost it gained a lot more. What it gained was the element of fun
and this was great. It made me smile every time Bandit distracted the cops,
tried to hide or when he did a jump. If this film was an action film, due to
the sheer amount of driving in it, it would have got monotonous; it would have
been one long action scene that would just get dull. As it’s a comedy you get
the thrill of the chase, the element of comedy that came with it, the witty dialogue
between the characters, mainly Bandit and Snowman and just enough room to throw
in some romance as well.
Another one of the great things about this film is
this introduction into the world of CB radio. The community in this film is
based around CB radio as Bandit and Snowman receive help from anyone who can
get them on the radio waves. This sense of community in this film is very
interesting and because of this and the slang they use in it, it gives you a really
good feel for the time, place and plot in which this film is set.
All in all I like this film but it does have its
flaws. The plot is thin; the aspect of the challenge that is set at the beginning
of the film (doing it in 28 hours) is lost very quickly and if you don’t like
cars then don’t even bother as this film is about 90% driving. But for me this film is a humble slice of
Americana, full of simple pleasures and Burt Reynolds. So what more could you
want from just a car film.
Favourite Quote
Buford T. Justice: [to his son] There's no way, *no*
way that you came from *my* loins. Soon as I get home, first thing I'm gonna do
is punch yo mamma in da mouth!
Rating 3.5/5
