Smokey and the Bandit

 

 "Atlanta to Texarkana and back in twenty eight hours? That ain't never been done before. "
"That's cause *we* ain't never done it. "
"Suppose we don't make it? "
"Hey, we ain't never not made it before, have we?"

Big Enos (Pat McCormick) and Little Enos (Paul Williams) Burdette need a truck driver to transport 400 gallons of Coors beer from Texarkana, TX to their party in Georgia.  Everyone they approach gets caught by the police, since it is illegal.  Eventually they offer Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) $80,000 to haul the beer 1800 miles in 28 hours.  Bandit accepts the bet.  He requests an advance for a fast car to serve as a blocker, while his friend Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Reed) and his dog Fred drive the truck.

They get to the Coors warehouse without any issues, load the truck and head towards Georgia.  Once they hit the road again, Bandit stops to pickup a woman in a wedding gown, Carrie (Field), who ran away from her wedding.  She is being pursued by her dimwitted groom Junior (Henry) and his father Sheriff Bufford T. Justice (Gleason).  Can Bandit and Snowman make the deadline and collect their sizable payday, or will  "Smokey" catch them and send them to jail?

What we're dealing with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.

A definite guilty pleasure kind of movie...  Don't worry about plot, it's basically just an excuse for an extended car chase.  Yes, it's an awesome car chase, but the plot isn't really important.

Burt Reynolds is awesome!  He has an entertaining rapport with Jerry Reed, who also wrote the theme song "Eastbound of Down."  The song is catchy and is featured throughout the film.  Reynolds also works well with Sally Field, who was his girlfriend at the time.  Jackie Gleason and Mike Henry are a great comedic duo.  Gleason does all the heavy lifting, but Henry gets some fun reactions / moments.

Check it out... a must-see for any car-chase junkies!

Smokey and the Bandit (1977) minutes
Director: Hal Needham
Starring: Burt Reynolds as Bo "Bandit" Darville
Sally Field as Carrie "Frog"
Jackie Gleason as Sheriff Buford "Smokey Bear" Justice
Jerry Reed as Cledus "Snowman" Snow
Mike Henry as Junior Justice
Pat McCormick as Big Enos Burdette
Paul Williams as Little Enos Burdette