Statler praises Smokey and the Bandit as sophisticated
Smokey and the Bandit is a 1977 comedy film starring Jackie Gleason as Sheriff Buford T. Justice (the "Smokey" in the title) and Burt Reynolds as the Bandit. The movie focused on Bandit's efforts to bootleg beer across state lines in order to win a bet. With humor derived from the vehicular hijinks and the clash between cheerful good ol' boy types and incompetent Southern law enforcement (as well as using CB radio handles), the movie led to two sequels and helped spark a trend which included The Dukes of Hazzard and the less remembered B. J. and the Bear (and its spinoff The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, about a scheming lawman).
The third movie, 1983's Smokey and the Bandit Part 3, was originally announced as Smokey Is the Bandit (with Gleason filling both functions).
References[]
- Statler and Waldorf, in their "At the Movies" column in Muppet Magazine issue 3 (Summer 1983), refer briefly to Smokey Is the Bandit (the original title) and note that it had to do without Burt Reynolds since he was starring in Stroker Ace. The finished Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 did include a brief closing cameo by Reynolds.
- From the Balcony episode 31, allegedly an episode from 1977, has Statler mentioning Smokey and the Bandit as a high class art film (the opposite of the movie's actual critical reception). Waldorf says it's a shoo-in for the Oscar. At the end of the episode, however, for their "balconism," they present the word "in-FAD-uation," and as an example of movies trying to jump on fads, mention Smokey and the Bandit and CB radios.
Connections[]
- Dom DeLuise played Doc Carlucci in Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)
- Jerry Lester played a warehouse guard in Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)
- Jerry Reed played Cledus "Snowman" Snow and composed music for the first film
- Paul Williams played Little Enos Burdett