






 
|
 |
The
Cannonball Run (1981)
    
_150w.jpg) |
Director:
Hal Needham |
COUNTRY
USA |
GENRE
Comedy/Action |
NORWEGIAN
TITLE
Verdens
sprøeste bilrace |
RUNNING
TIME
95
minutes |
|
Producer:
Albert S. Ruddy |
Screenwriter:
Brock Yates |
Review
Before
the days of critical global warming and hybrid cars – and before the
humourless Fast and the Furious series – there were Hal Needham and
Burt Reynolds, who allowed themselves the freedom to make films in which
cars were the main ingredient and the plot seemingly made up as the cast and crew went along. The
unabashed,
happy-go-lucky spirit they demonstrated was infectious, far beyond the
contemporary critics' understanding. And while Burt Reynolds undoubtedly
spread laughter, his main – and somewhat unique – contribution was that he
provided the viewer with sheer happiness. In The Cannonball Run,
we also get the addition of some delightful self-irony and meta-references, which
make this an enjoyable and inspiring little goofball of a film.
As
with Smokey and the
Bandit, at its core, this is a film about racing and chasing
–
which can be amusing and exhilarating at its best, but repetitive and silly at its worst. In The Cannonball Run, these two effects are
fairly evenly distributed. Yates' script and Needham's unsubtle but industrious direction
provide us with stereotypes and stock characters in ditto vehicles. Separately, neither the sheik (Farr), the Asians (Chan, Hui),
nor the
female racers (Barbeau, Buckman) have anything particularly interesting about them. But
combined, in the film's fast-paced, playful atmosphere, they complement each other neatly and
make up an all-star cast of impressive
diversity. Add to that a well-adjusted amount of satire, and
you have the basis for this finely tuned comedy that was once
slaughtered by critics but has since gained a deserved cult following.
|
|