Smokey and the Bandit (1977) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  Hal Needham

Starring:  Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, Mike Henry, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams

No I have not taken leave of my senses.    Those who dismiss Smokey and the Bandit as inane, redneck trash may want to leave this review now.     There will be others and life is too short to read about a movie that you won't like.     Smokey and the Bandit is goofy fun and full of sly humor.     There are chases featuring the famed black Trans Am driven by the famed bootlegger known as The Bandit (Reynolds), but there is also plenty of wit and laughs.      Yes, it is silly in a good way too.

Reynolds plays The Bandit, a famed bootlegger offered an $80,000 wager by the filthy rich Big Enos (McCormick) and Little Enos (Williams) to travel to Arkansas, pick up a truckload of beer, and drive it back to Georgia within 36 hours.     He enlists his truck driver buddy Cletus Snow (Reed) to haul the load while The Bandit runs interference.     This means he drives like a madman on the road, catches the attention of the police, and allows Cletus to drive through untouched.     If Bandit doesn't meet the deadline, he doesn't get paid.     The wager gives the movie the urgency needed for all of the chases and crashes that come later.

Along the way, Bandit picks up a woman hitchhiking in a wedding dress.     She is Carrie (Field), who left her husband-to-be at the altar and thus drawing the ire of her would-be father-in-law Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Gleason).    So Bandit not only has to meet the deadline, but escape the wrath of the pursuing Sheriff Justice.      Sheriff Justice is a loud, self-important blowhard who becomes apoplectic every time the Bandit escapes his clutches.     His car is turned into a mess and his witless son Junior (Henry) isn't much help.     Gleason is hilarious here.     He milks the role with every bit of overacting excess he can muster.     His eyes pop out and his cheeks puff up at the mere mention of the Bandit's name, which he hears often over the CB (remember that?).     The irony here is Justice is the law, but we root for the outlaw Bandit to escape from him.     Yes, I am discussing irony while reviewing Smokey and the Bandit.

Carrie and Bandit begin a sweet courtship at 100 mph.    There are tender moments when they actually have time to pull over and kiss.     Cletus doesn't have nearly as much luck during his pit stops.     In one instance, he is beaten up by a biker gang, but he gleefully gets his revenge.     Jerry Reed has a good time and is energetic.     The entire film itself is a bundle of energy.     Everyone involves knows it is absurd and turns up the wattage.   

Smokey and the Bandit is mostly one long chase scene.     This was made during a time when movie chase scenes still had some new angles to offer.     Now, chase scenes are almost ways for filmmakers to kill time.     Smokey and the Bandit produced two subpar sequels, both of which unable to match the magic of this film.     If you still don't believe my assertion that this film has some sneaky wit to it, observe this scene between Sheriff Justice and another local sheriff whose toes he is stepping on.

Justice:   "I'm in hot pursuit.    Don't you hear good?"

Branford:  "Your pursuit is not germane to the situation."

Justice:  "The doggone Germans have nothing to do with it."