Smokey and the Bandit 2 – 1980 – One more time
Smokey and the Bandit was the film that I thought I saw back in the old days. It’s seems that it actually was the first movie though since I don’t reorganize anything from this one. It may seem odd that I’ve seen and reviewed thousands of flicks but never saw these classics. But that’s how it is and you can never cover everything on your frame of reference even how much you try.
In this sequel the same guys, father and son on similar suits, hires the Bandit once but for a run. Of course things have change for the Bandit. He has been drinking for a while and is totally out of shape. It’s not until Sally Fields returns that he gets his stuff back together. She leaves the same guy at the alter this time by the way. And since this is the sheriff’s son he starts to chase them again. We realize that he will never catch them again of course.
Everything is a lot dumber with Smokey and the Bandit 2. The first film had some charm but this is just plain dumb most of the time. It seems to me that neither Burt Reynolds nor Sally Fields really want to be there. They do a good job by playing their parts but the spark that was in the first film isn’t there anymore. Everything just seems tired. And that’s not just the characters talking.
But there is a saving grace here. Dom Deluise does a brilliant part as a doctor-wannabe from eastern Europe or Italy or wherever his from. He is by far the best actor in this sequel, I love his performance.
Speaking of dumb, there’s some of the car chase sequences that are so stupid you can’t help tp laugh a bit about them and shake your head. I don’t know how many cars that get crashed in this one – cop cars I might add. But I think it’s way too many for the movie to be taken seriously. Of course it’s a comedy just like the first and even a slapstick movie but it’s too much to be funny. Less is more.
But there is a moral to the story and I think you can figure out who get each other in the end. All in all, a decent flick but without much of the charm the first film had.
