Hooper (1978)

Director: Hal Needham

Starring: Burt Reynolds, Jan-Michael Vincent, Sally Field, Brian Keith, Adam West, Robert Klein

Written by: Thomas Rickman, Bill Kirby, (story) Walt Green and Walter S. Herndon

Running Time: 99 mins

Original Cert: A

DVD not available

Hooper was a personal project for The King of guilty pleasures, Burt Reynolds and his friend and director, Hal Needham. Coming off the massive success of Smokey and the Bandit, the pair took a subject they knew a lot about, that of the stuntman, as they both dabbled before become famous. What they delivered is another haphazard yet enjoyable romp set around the world of movie making, more notably, those who throw themselves around for a living.

Sonny Hooper is one the film industries greatest stuntmen, and he knows it. Working on a spy thriller for egomaniac director Roger Deal, the years of performing “gags” is starting to take its toil, especially in Hooper’s back. Stubborn as he is, Hooper refuses to retire, particularly when a new kid comes to town claiming to be the new Sonny Hooper. Ego on the edge, the stuntman decides to do one final gag, that of jumping a 300 foot ravine in a rocket car. Only trouble is, it could cripple him forever.

The one thing you notice about Hooper that makes it stand out among the Reynolds/Needham films, is that is has a plot. Admittedly it’s not much of a plot but compared to Smokey and The Cannonball Run, this is a huge thing. The thing is with these movies is that you can forgive them for not having a story. The cast seems to be enjoying themselves so why can we?

Reynolds is such a loveable rogue you can help but warm to his often improvised wise-cracking. It’s a charm that he delivers time and time again without actually changing character. He is Smokey, he is Hooper and all are Reynolds. Sally Field once again plays Reynolds girlfriend and so is limited to looking pretty and being a nag, especially when news of Hooper’s back filters through. Brian Keith is fun as Field’s father and former stuntman while Adam West (yes, Batman himself) plays himself in a spoof Bond film (with Bond style theme music). The only off note in the cast is Jan-Michael Vincent. He seems out of place, like an actor looking for a serious film, instead of this light-hearted romp.

The other star of the film, of course, are the stunts. A few simple bike falls and building jumps build up to bigger and better things, including a record breaking 232 foot freefall drop and the big finale, with explosions all over the place while cars dodge falling chimney stacks and then THAT jump.

It’s all done with a lightness of touch and a bundle of fun. No one could accuse these films of high art. They exist for one reason and one reason only, to make you smile. Pound for pound they do that and while some critics could be a little snobby about these films, they are best medicine if you are feeling down or if you just want to spend time with some reliable friends because that’s exactly what they feel like.

Smokey And The Bandit II (1980)

Director: Hal Needham

Starring: Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleeson, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Dom DeLuise, Paul Williams, Pat McCormick.

Written by: Jerry Belson, Brock Yates, (story) Michael Kane, (characters created by) Hal Needham and Robert L. Levy.

Running Time: 100 mins

Original Cert: AA

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Film-Box-Set-Smokey-Lenticular/dp/B005ULCTBW/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1346087978&sr=1-1

 

If there is one man who can be considered the king of the guilty pleasure, it has be Burt Reynolds. The late 70s, early 80s he was having a constant battle for box office supremacy with his buddy, Clint Eastwood, and while Eastwood was shooting ’em up as either a cop or a cowboy and getting critical praise, Reynolds was just having fun. Delivering a rebellious, country-lovin’, good ole boy, Reynolds’ likeable ego-driven persona won him fans all over, even if his films were, to be honest, rubbish. Not rubbish in a bad way but in a highly entertaining way. Just look at the films he released in this period: Hooper, The Cannonball Run, Stoker’s Ace and, of course, the Smokey and the Bandit films. None have any real merit artistically but, quite frankly, who cares? They are just plain fun.

After the enormous global success of Smokey and the Bandit in 1977, in which an egotistical driver takes on a bet to bring illegal beer across state lines while dodging a cop determined to stop him, it was almost a sure thing that director Hal Needham would produce a sequel, luckily getting all the original team back on screen. With its mix of childish humour, fast cars and stunts galore, Needham didn’t want to change a thing that made the first film such a success and while it might not be as good as the original, it was still brainless fun.

It’s been a few years since Bandit and the Snowman travelled across State lines with a truck full of beer. Now Bandit is drinking it than transporting it. The Enos brothers, now running for government, need the Bandit to come out of forced retirement and to pick up a package from Florida. Bandit’s drinking was due to his lost of The Frog, who has gone back to marry Junior, the son of Smokey, Sheriff Buford T. Justice. Frog rejoins the team to get Bandit back on his feet and off to Florida they head, not realising that this time their cargo is an elephant.

Reynolds screen persona maybe annoying to some and endearing to others. He doesn’t need to try too hard or, for that matter, act much. All of his films with Hal Needham seem to come from the same place and with some, you honestly think they are making these films not for an audience but for themselves. They seem to be having far too much fun on these films, as evident in the outtakes at the end. That’s what makes these film so enjoyable, they are having fun so we, the audience will join in too.

Along with Reynolds, Country star Jerry Reed returns as Snowman, the truck-driving buddy with his Basset hound, Fred and so does Sally Field (yes, the Oscar-winning Sally Field) as Bandit’s on-off girlfriend, The Frog (also real-life on-off girlfriend at the time). Still supplying most of the of the laughs is Honeymooners star Jackie Gleason as the grumpy, relentless Sheriff. His mildly offensive (well they are now) one-liners provide some giggles and this time he is allowed to create two members of his family, a Canadian Mountie with a love for singing and Gaylord Justice…yes, you can guess.

Added to the family this time is Reynolds real-life friend, Dom DeLuise as an Italian doctor who comes along for the ride to look after the elephant. DeLuise is an acquired taste but he’s not as annoying here as he was in, say, The Cannonball Run.

The other thing that attracted the audience to these films were the stunt work and this one has a spectacular finale, when cop cars go head-to-head with trucks in a massive game of chicken in a huge desert area. Cars go flying all over the place in a mass of destruction and in the same year as the release of The Blues Brothers, car companies must have made a mint for selling their vehicles to these films.

Yes, it’s all very childish and sometimes pointless and the plot is so paper thin, you hardly need to concentrate. It’s not as good as the first but it still a great film to just wash over you, especially when you’ve had a bad day and you don’t want to think. It makes you smile and there’s not many films out there that can do that.