The Cannonball Run (1981) Review

A wide variety of eccentric competitors participate in a wild and illegal cross-country car race.

The Cannonball Run (1981, Twentieth Century Fox) is a campy, slapstick comedy movie released in 1981 that starred Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Dom DeLuise and Farrah Fawcett. Hal Needham was the director and had an uncredited role as an emergency medical technician. The premise is very similar to the earlier Cannonball and The Gumball Rally (both 1976). It also has two sequels, 1984's Cannonball Run II and 1989's Speed Zone! The latter was also known as Cannonball Fever and is sometimes overlooked as being part of the series.
Reynolds plays has-been race car driver J.J. McClure, and playing his mild-mannered mechanic counterpart, Victor Prinzi, is DeLuise (with a superhero alter ego, Captain Chaos, always waiting in the wings). Together, they participate in the Cannonball Run in an ambulance--a heavily modified Dodge Tradesman van which, incidentally, was the same vehicle driven by director Hal Needham during the running of the real Cannonball. In an attempt to appear legitimate to law enforcement, Victor hires Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing, a frightening, goofy (yet loveable) physician of questionable skill played by Jack Elam. They kidnap attractive young photographer, Pamela Glover (Farrah Fawcett)--who later in the film earns the nickname "Beauty"--to be their cover patient. Though Beauty vehemently opposes this at first, she eventually warms to the idea of being a participant in the race and to her unlikely "captors."

The movie is based on the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, an actual cross-country outlaw road race from the Red Ball Garage in New York City (later Darien, CT) to the pier at Redondo Beach, California, just south of Los Angeles, organized by automotive journalist and the movie's screenwriter Brock Yates. Some of the more interesting aspects of the movie based on real life include the 'ambulance' entry and the 'all female entry'.

Cannonball Run was a childhood favorite of mine and is one of my all-time guiltiest pleasures. The reason I like the film doesn't stem from the usual things -- I am not a fan of any of the actors (except Jackie Chan), I don't think it's particularly brilliant in the writing or direction department, and the car chases are certainly not particularly appealing to me. What this movie has is oodles of cast chemistry, and it's very clear that the entire cast and crew enjoyed making it, with almost everyone looking like they are on the verge of laughter throughout the film (the end of film bloopers bears proof of this well). It's also an inspired idea for a movie, based on an actual race which took place in the 70s (reportedly started by screenwriter Yates), and the plethora of colorful characters interacting with each other proves to be great fun.

Burt Reynolds (Boogie Nights, Mystery Alaska) stars as J.J. McClure, a thrill-seeker who decides to enter an illegal coast-to-coast car race that draws in contestants from all around the world. It's dog-eat-dog, as the contestants do everything they can to be the first to cross the finish line, while also trying to avoid getting in trouble from the highway patrol along the way.

It's nothing too deep, but it doesn't try to be. Cannonball Run is a pure entertainment movie that does deliver the goods for all those who seek a few chuckles and goofy characters to follow. The multitudinous character actors are a joy to watch, with solid chemistry between the chosen partners, especially the Reynolds/DeLuise and Dean Martin/Sammy Davis Jr. combos. This also marks the first American film appearance of future world action superstar Jackie Chan, playing a Japanese race driver who speaks Cantonese (Jackie reportedly is upset at not being informed of this). Fun is also had watching Roger Moore (Octopussy, The Spy Who Loved Me) spoof his James Bond image with some homages to some of the gadgets in the films themselves. On the downside, this is not a film that will earn many points from the politically correct crowd.

With excellent stunt work, an impressive cast, and a heaping helping of fun makes Cannonball Run an entertaining 90 minutes for those who expect hot cars, hotter women, and lots of crazy set pieces. Not really a hit with the critics, this is fan favorite material all of the way.

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