Semi-Tough (1977)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Billy Clyde Puckett	Burt Reynolds
Shake Tiller	Kris Kristofferson
Barbara Jane Bookman	Jill Clayburgh	½
Big Ed Bookman	Robert Preston
Friedrich Bismarck	Bert Convy	½
Clara Pelf	Lotte Lenya
Phillip Hooper	Richard Masur
Dreamer Tatum	Carl Weathers
T. J. Lambert	Brian Dennehy	½
Vlada	Ron Silver

Review

This at times fuzzy and unfocused comedy struggles with trivialities until it settles into a series of spoofs on the contemporary phenomena of various conscious-raising, quasi-philosophical existential movements that found their way into the celebrity scene in the 1970s. The Kris Kristofferson character is the tool (which eventually makes his role somewhat thankless), while his roomie, teammate, and long-time buddy Burt Reynolds is his unpretentious opposite. The love triangle is lightweight and not even particularly charming, but the tone of the film is brilliant, and the dialogue is at times hilarious. Director Michael Ritchie may not have the tightest command of his work, but he has a delightfully baffling quality to his storytelling that emphasises the film's clever satire. In the end, though, it all comes down to Burt's charm and buoyancy. He walks through the film portraying both jealousy and despair without ever truly exposing himself. It would be disrespectful to call it "acting", but he is darn brilliant.