On Smokey and the Bandit

With the death of Burt Reynolds we decided to watch his masterpiece, Smokey and the Bandit.

We thought we had seen the film during our childhood, but having now watched, we realize we're thinking of Cannonball Run. 

We enjoyed the feel and aesthetic of the film. This is the South in the 1970s, no disco balls and leisure suits, just normal people going about their lives. We recognized it.*

The film reminded us of an automobile version of Slapshot as if Hal Needham said, 'Let's just see how many chases and car wrecks we can stuff in this film. We'll make up the rest.'

We enjoyed Jerry Reed's Cletus. The film's main charm is that everyone, even Buford Justice is likable.**

*Recall, reader(s) though we are a blue-bellied Yankee, our mother is from Western Kentucky and we visited the family once or twice a year.

**Growing up in McClean County, Kentucky, which was and is dry, our mother said the sheriff chased down stills and Moonshiners. His name was Bap.