My Review of "Smokey and the Bandit"

I honestly didn't know much about the 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit before I watched it. It's a classic movie so I've heard of the title before but didn't really know what it was about. Seeing as it's such an old movie I thought it would be outdated and I wouldn't be able to enjoy it but I've been proven wrong many times. A good movie is a good movie regardless of its age.

This movie starts off basically because of a bet. These big shot gambling men bets a bandit, played by Burt Reynolds, to transport a truckload of beer from Somewhere in Texas to Atlanta in 28 hours. Earlier in the movie they explained that this is a criminal offence. Getting caught by the police for something like this can spell big trouble. The bandit of course has all the confidence in the world that he can do it and agrees to the challenge.

Bandit gets his best guy named Snowman, played by Jerry Reed, to drive the big truck while he drives a black Trans Am to help take the heat from cops off of him. I guess smokey's would be what they referred to as highway patrolmen.

The transport of this truck gets a little more difficult when Frog (a nickname given to her from the Bandit), played by Sally Field, joins the two on their adventure. Frog was going to get married to some guy in Texas but backed out last minute. The guy that she was going to marry so happened to be the sheriff's son. I guess this was a great insult to the sheriff because he is hellbent on finding Frog.

I thought it was a clever little role reversal that Frog was abandoning the wedding and the groom's father is basically running after her with a shotgun. This whole movie is based in the southern states of the US and it's a common stereotype that it's usually the bride's father chasing a runaway groom.

This is very much a car chase movie. There are tons and tons of car chase scenes and they're done very well. You can tell the skill of the stunt drivers were top of the class. They really put the Trans Am on the map with this movie. I can understand why people really liked the car after watching this movie. They had so many ways of making this car look so cool just as the Delorean with Back to the Future.

So there really were three main characters, Smokey, Frog and the Trans Am. All of the actors in this movie oozed charisma and charm. This movie will make you fall in love with all of the characters. They're so inviting and so likable. There's something with the way they present themselves that make you think that they're good people despite breaking the law.

There is a lot of law breaking too. The bandit is basically a local legend in the south and he has a lot of friends because of his stature on the road. it was great to see this large community of drivers on the road that help him out. I really got a good sense of community and family when watching this movie. How can you make such a monotonous thing as driving on the road for countless hours so entertaining? You'd think it wouldn't work but they made it work in grand fashion. It was really fun to watch from start to finish.

All the police were made to look like villains especially the Texan sheriff. This was probably the closest they got to making Yosemite Sam in a live action movie in 1977. The stuff that these cops get into is very close to a Looney Tunes cartoon. It's often very funny especially in a real life situation.

Overall, I had a blast watching this movie and I think others will find it fun as well. My apprehensions to watch this movie quickly disappeared. I'm glad people hold this movie in high regard. It really is a classic movie and passes the test of time. I have to give this movie an 8 out of 10. There is just so much charm in this movie that you can't smile while watching it. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and check it out!