The Cannonball Run (1981) 20th Century Fox/Comedy RT: 95 minutes Rated PG (language, crude humor, comic violence, wild driving, beer drinking) Director: Hal Needham Screenplay: Brock Yates Music: Al Capps Cinematography: Michael Butler Release date: June 19, 1981 (US) Cast: Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Farrah Fawcett, Roger Moore, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Jamie Farr, Jack Elam, Adrienne Barbeau, Terry Bradshaw, Jackie Chan, Bert Convy, Peter Fonda, George Furth, Michael Hui, Bianca Jagger, Molly Picon, Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, Mel Tillis, Rick Aviles, Warren Berlinger, Tara Buckman, John Fiedler, Valerie Perrine, Johnny Yune, Norman Grabowski, Joe Klecko, Bob Tessier, Alfie Wise. Box Office: $72.1 million (US)
Rating: ****
The term “film classic” is a subjective one when you think about it. There are a number of titles that everybody can agree deserve the classification- e.g. Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and North by Northwest to name but a few. Others, like The Cannonball Run, are debatable. I’d call it a classic in its own right. It’s an all-star, good ol’ boy, smash ’em up comedy starring Burt Reynolds and a lot of other actors and non-actors (Jimmy the Greek?). I know it isn’t exactly filmmaking at its finest but it’s still GREAT!
I saw The Cannonball Run opening day and knew it my heart it would be awesome. With this much talent running rampant, how could it be otherwise? Remember, we’re talking about the reasoning of a 13YO just getting his feet wet in the ways of cinema. In any event, I was right. I LOVED it! I still do. It’s one of those movies that never get old. I’ve seen it many, MANY times in its 40+ years of existence and never grow tired of it.
The plot is simplicity itself. A bunch of crazies compete in an illegal cross-country road race to win $250,000. That’s it. Burt plays J.J. McClure, a professional daredevil who plans to win by driving an ambulance with his best friend and business partner Victor (DeLuise, Blazing Saddles). Burt’s chubby pal has an alter ego, a masked-and-caped hero called Captain Chaos. In need of a “patient”, they kidnap a ditzy environmentalist (Fawcett, Charlie’s Angels) with a thing for trees. Participants include Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. as two bogus priests driving a red Ferrari, Adrienne Barbeau (Escape from New York) and Tara Buckman (Silent Night, Deadly Night) as two hot babes in a Lamborghini, Jamie Farr (M*A*S*H) as an insanely rich Arab sheik, country singer Mel Tillis and football player Terry Bradshaw as a couple of beer-guzzling rednecks, western icon Jack Elam as a scary-looking proctologist, martial artist Jackie Chan (The Big Brawl) as a Japanese racer in a fully computerized car and Roger Moore as a wealthy guy named Seymour who thinks he’s Roger Moore. Out to bring the race to a screeching halt is dorky consumer advocate Mr. Foyt (Furth, Blazing Saddles).
Other familiar faces that pop up throughout The Cannonball Run include game show host Bert Convy (Tattletales), Warren Berlinger (The Long Goodbye), Peter Fonda (in a goof on his Easy Rider role), Yiddish actress Molly Picon (Fiddler on the Roof), Bianca Jagger (ex-wife of Mick), comedian Rick Aviles, John Fiedler (voice of Winnie the Pooh character Piglet), Valerie Perrine (Superman) and famous bookmaker Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder.
Applying a traditional review to The Cannonball Run would be pointless. It’s not that kind of movie. Details like plot, acting and character development don’t matter. Directed by former stuntman Hal Needham (Smokey and the Bandit), you either like this kind of movie or you don’t. It’s basically a road race take on It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It’s largely funny with its crude jokes, physical humor and sight gags. It has cool cars, stunts, crashes, chases and a big free-for-all fight in which the racers take on a gang of bikers. It has Burt being Burt. The characters drink a lot of beer. So what if there isn’t a lot of intelligence on display?
For what it is, The Cannonball Run is extremely well made. Given Needham’s previous line of work, there’s no way the stunt work is anything less than impressive. The cast, most of them friends of Burt, looks like they’re having a good time driving fast and joking around with their host. Ray Stevens’ theme song is great. In short, The Cannonball Run is a fun, entertaining, mindless road race comedy with hot cars and hot chicks with big busts. It’s the ideal summer movie for any time of year.
