The End

Everyone remembers this one, esp the scene at the loony bin window where Dom Delouise is hellbent of finishing Burt off, Burt has second thoughts about plummetting to his death, and so on. That alone is great. Kirsty McNichols was also very good too. (I was too young when I saw it to appreciate the presence of Myrna Loy and Joanne Woodward, and so I do look forwards to seeing it again in fact)

I also can remember seeing David Steinberg doing his whacked out shrink routine-'Get off of me!', etc. too. He is kinda forgotten now but a funny guy nonetheless.

So yeah, I do recommend this to anyone who wants to see an underrated Reynolds flick, it really is pretty good.

***

Best remembered for the last half-hour involving Burt Reynolds, as a dying man with less than a year to live, and Dom DeLuise, whom he meets at an insane asylum after an unsuccessful suicide attempt: Crazy Dom's given the personal task to kill Burt so he doesn't have to do it himself...

Before the human cartoon zaniness is a satisfying, darkly comedic hour where Reynold's character, a formerly shady insurance scammer, Sonny, meets with a young priest (Robbie Benson, basically playing, Robbie Benson as a priest) who's more curious about Sonny's sins than a confession...

Followed by his flaky lover played by Sally Field, who, having never looked hotter, as he tries for a good old fashion "pity f---", has more annoying house cats than desire.

Then he visits his ex wife with her Latin lover; then beloved daughter (Kristy McNichol) who he walks through a colorful park; and his parents, veterans Myrna Loy and Pat O'Brien, each oblivious to the impending doom...

The beginning provides a hilarious moment as Sonny's handed down the horrible news by his doctor (Norman Fell) while staring into a large aquarium, an obvious improv by Reynolds who can be quite funny reacting to things around him: including an odd looking fish and later on, his ex wife's gigolo/lover and a noisy cat in Field's shabby home...

The fast-paced third act in the seemingly tranquil insane asylum with Burt and Dom's schizophrenic Marlon Borunki, who tells Polish jokes while holding back tears when we first meet him, has some funny moments...

But it's Sonny's initial journey to find something to live and/or die for that really works, providing Reynolds an opportunity to wield both comedy and pathos throughout the bleak story-line...

Since we meet Sonny right after he's handed down the news, we never get to know the jerk that made commercials selling lakeside properties without lakes, cheating on his wife with hookers, or ignoring his teenage daughter...

Yet these traits seep out of the dying Sonny, and at the same time, a new man emerges. Despite coming across as a subdued Archie Bunker, using words like "beaner" without a second thought...

He's someone you'll dig hanging out with during the ninety minute odyssey. And it takes a versatile actor like Reynolds could pull off such a flawed human being and make him so likable and humorous.

This was, without a doubt, the most hilariously comic performance that the brilliant Dom DeLuise had on film. When, in the midst of a depressed "woe is me" rant, he looks up and asks "Do you think we'll ever switch to the metric system?", well, it just don't get no funnier than that. His botched suicide attempts, as well as his eagerly wanting to help Burt with HIS suicide, oh heck, just go rent it yourself! You'll love it.

Burt was brilliant too. He holds a thin line between wanting to die and wanting to live that is believable. It's a real shame that this movie often gets me blank stares when I tell others about it. More people know about Four Weddings and a Funeral (a movie so horrid that I still refuse to watch another Andie McDowell flick) than this quiet classic. (sigh)

Burt Reynolds was one of the great action and dramatic stars of the 20th Century. He was also hysterically funny. This movie about a very serious topic-a man dying and coming to terms with the Knowledge-is very funny. Dom Deluise is hysterical and a great partner for Reynolds. Sally Field plus the straight role with Grace. The supporting cast is very good-Norman Fell as the Dr and Robby Benson as the young priest. The comedic direction is masterful in the underrated, now classic comedy. This holds up well.

For a guy diagnosed with a terminal disease, Burt Reynolds sure pumped a lot of life into this film.

This is the ultimate in black comedies, a man is told he's got a little over a year to live. We would all react in different ways. Burt Reynolds gets this cheerful bit of news and goes immediately berserk and starts acting all kinds of crazy.

Of course everyone around him sees him differently. Wife Joanne Woodward, girl friend Sally Field, parents Pat O'Brien and Myrna Loy. Burt pushes all their buttons except O'Brien who seems oblivious to all.

Reynolds always had a marvelous gift for comedy that in his prime period of the seventies was utilized rather well. His career seemed to go in the same path as Tom Selleck's, I think they could have played a lot of each other's parts.

Of course it was nice to see two veterans of old Hollywood, Myrna Loy and Pat O'Brien in support. They never disappoint.

My favorites though are Strother Martin as the officious head of a mental institution where Reynolds gets committed after some bizarrely unsuccessful suicide attempts and Dom DeLuise as another patient there.

DeLuise when he gets going approaches Robin Williams kind of zaniness and he was working on all cylinders in this film. He's ready to offer all kinds of help to Burt to fulfill his mission.