The Cannonball Run

If you're looking for a movie loaded with cars, crashes, 1/8th of the Rat Pack, Adrienne Barbeau's best assets... oh yeah, and Burt Reynolds, look no further than "The Cannonball Run".

It was a hit back in 1981 and no wonder: Burt was on top of his game and we were all young and naive back then. Heck, I have a warm spot for all the rampant stupidity, myself.

All the better that Roger Moore plays a deft parody of his own James Bond persona, complete with an Aston Martin.

If you've seen this film way back when, no doubt you remember it with some fondness. Let's face it: it may not have been on par with films like "The Gumball Rally" or even "Death Race 2000", but in its own way and on its own terms, it works just fine.

A word of sage advice: if you watch this film, skip "Cannonball Run 2". It'll only ruin your good memories of the first. And if you didn't like the original, well....

Five stars. Plus one star extra for adding Jackie Chan for what adds up to mostly as a cameo as a karate-kicking racer. And a half star more for Adrienne Barbeau's fancy work with a jump suit zipper. Altogether, six and a half stars.

Wish she would have made it a seven.

"The Cannonball Run" is a wild and crazy ride of a comedy about an illegal cross-country auto race. This movie was the third time star Burt Reynolds teamed up with director Hal Needham. Before "Cannonball Run" they made the first two "Smokey and the Bandit" pictures, and afterwards they made "Stroker Ace" and "Cannonball Run II". "The Cannonball Run" and the original "Smokey and the Bandit" are my favorites. Made back when Reynolds was hitting box office gold, "The Cannonball Run" auto race begins in Connecticut and features the goofy all-star cast passing each other up until they get to their final destination, California. In addition to Burt Reynolds, the movie also stars Dom DeLuise as Reynolds partner, Roger Moore pretending to be himself, Farrah Fawcett as the woman Reynolds and DeLuise pick up at the beginning of the race, and two late great entertainers: Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. as two phony priests driving a red Ferrari. All are involved in the race, and its a wild ride all the way to the finish. Adrienne Barbeau, Jackie Chan, Jamie Farr, Mel Tillis, and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw also star. Great fun.

*** (out of four)

Burt Reynolds, Hal Needham and crew capitalized on the success of the first two Bandit movies, threw in some hot babes along with recognizable stars for a blast of a film. Who needs plot with all the eye candy? Also, you can tell that everyone on screen's having a blast doing this movie which adds to its enjoyability. Having the original Rat Pack reunite in these films perhaps signaled a passing of the torch to the new Rat Packers of that time, lead by Burt Reynolds. Being from Pittsburgh, Terry Bradshaw's involvement fueled his fan support as this was made after he won his fourth Super Bowl. This movie inspired my friends and I to take off on two cross country road trips. Although we could not find any spandex Lamborghini babes we almost had as much fun as these guys!

Seeing people get away with some of the most ridiculous actions in comedic fashion is always tantalizing. How do they get away with such foolishness? That doesn't happen in the real world as often as this. If only I (as in the viewer) could be that crazy with no problems. This is exactly what this live-action version of Boomerang's Wacky Races (1968) is. It's a movie where rules don't apply to main characters as well as physics, gags and mindset. The movie just can't be taken on a literal level; otherwise, the viewer will not enjoy it.

Joining director Hal Needham in this racecar comedy is veteran actor Burt Reynolds who has also completed several projects in the past with him; so it's no surprise they are in this project either. Co-starring Reynolds is a slew of other well-known actors, singers and models. Playing Reynolds right hand companion is Dom DeLuise who also has an alter ego whom no one seems to understand of how he shows up and exits. Together they ride in an ambulance as a disguise to help them win the race. Accompanying them is their doctor played by Jack Elam who was cast perfectly because of his unmoving left eye. To name a few more, Farrah Fawcett, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Jackie Chan and even Roger Moore (who pretends he's Roger Moore) all play funny characters.

This is the real strong point to this movie; it's an ensemble cast and if you're a viewer who likes seeing movies with lots of star power, this is one of them to see. The story however, written by Brock Yates isn't anything special. The plot is about a bunch of wacky racers doing what they can to win and really that's all this movie needed. It does give a back-story to Reynolds' character and DeLuise's alter ego but it's nothing to be real interested in. As for the comedy parts of the writing, that is a slight bit stronger than the story itself. However, that also doesn't mean every joke was funny. There were some places there just were not funny enough when it should have been.

Each actor has their own thing going for them and it's because of that, that they all don't rely on the same thing to make a joke. Again, my favorite was Jack Elam playing the doctor. God he was a laugh! And surprisingly, the score provided by Al Capps did a decent job as well. His tunes may have not been longer than a good 30 seconds, but it did evoke the right feeling of the movie, which was lightheartedness. One thing that did bug me was how politically incorrect and sexist everything was though. I understand that it this time it wasn't taken seriously and I also understand that this is partially what helps make the film effective in a comedic sense but unfortunately, in today's age, it can be offensive to some who are closed minded individuals.

There isn't a story to fall back on which can leave some people feeling empty. But if you're looking for a film with a lot of star power, fast vehicles and various sparks of clever comedy, then this goofy car race just may hit the spot.

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.