4/5 So bad but so good...
  by J. Elmquist (Somewhere else...)
Cannonball Run is a guilty pleasure. No one would ever say it's a good movie, but it's a like train wreck, you find yourself staring. Burt Reynolds tries to live his glory days of Smokey and The Bandit, bringing along the same Director, Hal Needham as well as a slew of falling stars to prop him up. Its as if all of them knew their careers were sliding and it was one last ditch effort to make a great noise. Don't get me wrong, many of these people are talented. Lets explain the premise first. The 'Run' is an auto street (or highway) race, based closely on a real race that was run throughout the 70s that went from New York to California. It was highly illegal, and probably a lot a fun. There is even an appearance by one of the original drivers, Brock Yates, who is now an editor for Car & Driver Magazine and makes an amusing appearance as the MC, explaining how the race goes. Reynolds is JJ McClure, a former race car driver and mechanic who is the standing champ in the race. Eager to keep his title, he is desperate to win again. In this race though, that doesn't just mean going fast, anyone can go fast, but sooner or later, you will get stopped. JJ and his strange friend, Victor (Dom Delouse) adopt a personality of two paramedics driving a patient cross country. Apparently this worked in the actual race one year. The supporting cast of competition includes Jamie Farr as an overzealous Sheik in a hopped up Rolls Royce, Roger Moore playing a comic version of his James Bond character driving his popular silver Austin Martin, Mel Tillus and Terry Bradshaw playing a couple of southern boys cruising in a stolen race car and my personal favorite, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. playing womanizing, gambling hard drinking priests driving a red Ferrari (they aren't really priests). All this adds up to a movie where every scene you see a star. Dean and Sammy steal the show in almost every scene they're in, they are class acts adding something unattainable in most pictures of this caliber. The racing antics are not quite as funny as the beginning scenes where all the characters are introduced, but it is entertaining. The best part of the movie comes at the end though where the bloopers are shown during the closing credits. It's worth the price of the DVD alone. Don't expect a great movie out of Cannonball Run, all you can really expect is a good time, but isn't that what it's all about?

5/5 Lets the laughs roll! :)
  by (Cranston, R.I. United States)
A zany cross country race based on an
actual event called "The Cannonball
Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash." The brainchild of writer Brock
Yates, who competed in the first Cannonball in 1971. The object is to
drive as fast and as safely as possible from Connecticut to Redondo Beach, California.
In every Cannonball, no driver or person has ever been injured.
The worst case, a team or two put behind
bars for no more than an hour.
"The Cannonball Run" is based on real
characters and adventures. It was penned
by Yates, who makes an appearance in the early stages of the movie as the "organizer."

Burt Reynolds headlines an all star lineup as "J.J. McClure" a wealthy
entrepreneur who, along with his
'executive assistant' Victor Prinze,
played with great verve by comedian
Dom DeLuise. Victor has some issues.
In times of 'mortal danger' his personality changes from mild mannered
mechanic, into an alter-ego called
"Captain Chaos" who wreaks havoc on
some less than respectable hombres we encounter along the way.
Farrah Fawcett is teamed with J.J. and Victor when she's kidnapped in their ambulance.
Jack Elam as "Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing" provides lots of laughs
and few chills when needed.


Veteran performers Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. join the ensemble as
a pair of priests in a souped-up Ferrari.

Roger Moore makes a departure from his
'James Bond' character playing "Seymor Goldfarb." An individual who believes he's
Roger Moore. It's a great spoof and Moore plays it with perfection.

Mel Tillis and former quarterback
Terry Bradshaw show up as just a
couple of good ol' boys ala "Dukes
of Hazzard" style, toting cases of beer but sans the "General Lee."

Tara Buckman and Adrienne Barbeau are seen throughout the film in their
custom black Lamborghini Countach,
breaking speed limits and the hearts
of some unsuspecting law enforcement
officers along the route.

Jamie Farr from "MASH" is cast in the role of a Sheik obsessed with winning the Cannonball
in a hot-rod Rolls Royce.

The Cannonball Run was directed by
Hal Needham who brought us "Smokey and
the Bandit" and "Hooper." Hal and Brock
were partners in a Cannonball held in the late 70S. Needham sets a flat out,
pedal to the metal pace for "Cannonball" and it doesn't let
up till the finish line.

After twenty years, this film still makes you laugh. Rent it tonight :)

5/5 Crazy, Silly, & Wonderful!
  by Presley54
I watched this because I adore Dean Martin and the Rat Pack, but only after putting off watching it for so long--I was afraid it would be really stupid and not be worthy of being Dean's next to last movie. I had no reason to fear :) . It is absolutely hilarious! The second one is a million times better (more Dean & Sammy and a huge plus with Frank), but this one's great. It's just crazy and silly and a ton of fun.

3/5 Cannonball Run
  by Dan Wills (England)
Okay, so I first saw this film at the age of 10, and we all know that a 10 year old is easier to please than an adult. However, I still love this film now (15 years later!), and not just for the fast cars and all-star cast. Of course the plot is almost non-existent but who cares? It's refreshing to see a film which doesn't take itself too seriously (a point that Dr Popinofsky seems to have missed in his review). It's called fun, Doc. F-U-N. If we're not allowed a bit of pointless fun from time to time what's the point of even getting out of bed in the morning?

I accept it's probably not to everybody's taste but it still makes me giggle!

5/5 The Pinnacle of American Cinema in the 20th Century
  by Lazlo Hollyfeld (The Fast Lane, NJ United States)
Citizen Kane, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Annie Hall, Convoy, these film's names are often bandied about whenever a serious discussion of the greatest American films ensues. However there is one that stands, head and shoulders, above the rest. Literally dwarfing the competition. The Cannonball Run is that behemoth. Never before had such an amazing array of talent been assembled for one film. We are treated to the combined acting prowess of Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Terry Bradshaw, Jackie Chan, Bert Convy, Jamie Farr (as the sheik!), Peter Fonda, Bianca Jagger, Jimmy The Greek, Mel Tilis, and the one, the only Mr. Burt Reynolds as the indomitable J.J. McClure. This film tells the story of an illegal, cross-country car race that attracts an assortment of eccentric entrants (above listed actors) who will stop at nothing to win. Ultimately however, it is a tale of the triumph of the human spirit over insurmountable odds, the EPA (in the form of Arthur J. Foyt) and the Police. Not mention being one hell of a vehicle for Burt Reynolds' ego, as most of his pictures were. We get to see him degrade Dom DeLuise thoroughly, not only during the movie, but also during the credits as they roll outtakes of Burt literally beating the hell out of the lovable oaf he used as his sidekick for so many years. This movie reflects a time and an innocence long gone in America. Filmed in 1981 it is still very much of the free-spirited, sex and drug fueled 70s that had yet to dissipate during the Reagan "Just Say No" 80s. Most obviously evidenced by the passionate way these drivers embraced Recreational Drunk Driving (most noticeably the two duos of Dean and Sammy and Bradshaw - Tilis), it is a quality I find sorely lacking in today's Cinema. The film was made before the term Politically Correct had been coined. It treats Authority, Women and Minorities with equal disrespect. In fact it seems to revel in irreverence, and cheap stereotypes abound. We've got the Jamie Farr Sheik, The Tilis/Bradshaw Rednecks, Rick Aviles as Mad Dog; The Cannonball Run did not hesitate to offend anyone. The only rule it seems the producers laid down was that they couldn't make Burt look bad. So long as it served Reynolds' ego, go for it. And go for it they did. It's only too bad that we'll never see another classic like this again.