Smokey and the Bandit

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Screening Suggestions

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It has been quite some time since I've seen this movie, so there were a few things that I didn't take into account. Once again, we have a late 70s classic that has unfortunately dated itself for any newcomers. But, laying my cards on the table, I have to say that despite any aged issues it may have, I still think it's a lot of fun. But one's viewing of it needs to sort of fit a particular scenario. More on that later.

Before I go forward with this one, though, a few things one really should know. First off, this was filmed before 'Dukes of Hazzard' aired. Therefore, do not be too shocked at the presence of a Confederate flag on the Bandit's '77 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am's license plate. Also, akin to the film's time is a lot of the humour involved. In fact, I laughed extra hard at one line in particular because it's so incredibly over the top offensive (or at least probably is to the average person. I tend to have a pretty dark sense of humour).

​Bo "Bandit" Darville (Burt Reynolds) is approached by a wealthy Texan named "Big" Enos Burdette (Pat McCormick), along with his tiny son, "Little Enos" (Paul Williams). They offer him $80,000 to haul 400 cases of Coors (yeah, this is a big beer commercial, too) from Texarkana to Atlanta in the span of 28 hour. Even though this sounds like a fairly natural process, one must understand that this film is dated in another way - at the time, in certain locations of America, there was prohibition. So to make a long story short, our man the Bandit here is taking part in bootlegging. As for why the Enos' want this Coors; they are sponsoring a racer in Atlanta's Southern Classic, and want to celebrate in style when their car wins.

The Bandit accepts the task, recruiting his partner, Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed) to do the truck-driving. Bandit's role in this operation is to be a "blocker"; someone who will divert the attention of law enforcement away from illegal cargo. Said law enforcement comes in the form of Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason) and his bumbling son, Junior (Mike Henry). They inadvertently begin chasing Bandit by chance after Junior's runaway bride, Carrie (Sally Field) hitches a ride with him. So much of what we have here is a bit of a Wyle E. Coyote/Roadrunner situation. And I think it's also safe to say that this one is a bit of a time capsule of a film, considering the laws of the time and a few other details about it I already mentioned.

But speaking of going back to things I mentioned, I was talking about viewing this in a particular scenario. Aside from just watching it for yourself, I would recommend that this is a bit of a "dude" film, and therefore needs to be seen with a "dude" frame of mine. This is a movie where you get your buddies together, crack open some Coors (or other beer that suits your taste a bit better) and go along for the ride without overthinking any of the potentially offensive things that might be in it. It's definitely a product of its time, but I do think that with the right frame of mind, this can still be a lot of fun.

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