Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983)

Director:

Dick Lowry

Writers:

Stuart Birnbaum (writer)
David Dashev (writer)

Release Date:

12 August 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Pull out the stops. To heck with the cops. Someone's making out like a bandit.

Plot:

Big and Little Enos are opening a sea food restaurant. They bet Sheriff Buford T. Justice that he cannot drive from Miami to the Enos ranch in Texas in a given amount of time. If Buford loses he has to give up his badge.

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Sequel | Road | Police | Chase

Cast

Jackie Gleason	...	Buford T. Justice
Jerry Reed	...	Cledus Snow / 'Bandit'
Paul Williams	...	Little Enos Burdette
Pat McCormick	...	Big Enos Burdette
Mike Henry	...	Junior Justice
Colleen Camp	...	Dusty Trails
Faith Minton	...	Tina
Burt Reynolds	...	The Real Bandit
Sharon Anderson	...	Police Woman
Silvia Arana	...	Latin Woman
Alan Berger	...	Hippie
Ray Bouchard	...	Purvis R. Beethoven (as Raymond Bouchard)
Connie Brighton	...	Girl #1
Earl Houston Bullock	...	Flagman
Ava Cadell	...	Blonde

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-14 | Spain:T | Australia:M | Canada:14A (video rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Norway:12 | UK:15 (video rating) (2005) | UK:18 (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Clearwater, Florida, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The yacht that Big & Little Enos are standing next to when Justice accepts their bet in Miami is named "Monkey Business." This yacht, based in Miami, is the same "Monkey Business" that Presidential contender Gary Hart was on with Donna Rice in Bimini. Rice was not his wife and it led to the derailment of his 1988 campaign.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the milk truck scene, as Buford crashes through it, you can clearly see that the light bar, as well as the fish are knocked completely off. Upon the next shot of the car back with all four wheels on the ground, they are both still there.

Quotes:

Buford T. Justice: I've said it before and I'll say it again. There is no way, no way that you could come from my loins. Soon as we get home, I'm gonna put a lump on your mama's head.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Duplicity/Knowing/I Love You, Man (#1.4)" (2009)

A truly bad sequel

Why can't Hollywood just let good movies die in peace? This 2nd sequel to the original (and quite good) "Smokey and the Bandit" stinks everywhere. The story is lame and the characters have been reduced to caricatures of themselves.

Let's start with the story. The premise here is that those Enos boys are at it again, wanting to have some fun at the expense of someone. That someone is none other than Sheriff Buford T. Justice (key the tuba) who has just put in for retirement. When those retirement plans aren't what he expected, our valiant Sheriff accepts the Enos' challenge: Deliver a plastic shark to the new restaurant the Enos boys opened up. While along the way, those rascally Enos dudes are going to try to stop him at any cost.

Okay, stop right there. In the first Bandit movie, the idea was a simple challenge and bet. The Enos boys were depicted as nothing more than a rich father and son team who were bored so they thought up a good challenge. No real maliciousness involved - just a challenge with some money put up to make people take it seriously. That was fun.

In the 2nd Bandit movie, the Enos reputation (such as it is) is on the line and they want to beat a political rival. Not as strong, but again, nothing terribly malicious involved.

This movie has them just trying to be mean to their new play toy. Namely, Sheriff Justice. So they send him on his way and start trying to sabotage his trip. When Justice beats them at every turn, they figure that they need a professional to deal with him. Since the Bandit isn't around (he's off making "Stroker Ace") they give the job (and the red shirt, belt buckle and hat) to Cledus, our old truck driving buddy.

So, Cledus chases Justice to get the prized shark and fun and laughter ensue. Well, not too much fun and little laughter but look on the bright side - it was a paycheck for Gleason and Reed.

Anyway, from there on out it becomes the now tired old cat-and-mouse game with one side giving chase to the other. But even the chases lack the polish to make you remember back to the ones in the 1977 original. They seem more staged and one dimensional. For example, there's a scene where Cledus and a new buddy "sneak" up from behind and take the shark off of the Sheriff's car. The shot is not technically difficult and it's rather boring. Plus, what law enforcement officer doesn't check his mirror to make sure of what's behind him? I learned that in 11th grade driver's ed.

Anway, to summarize, I think the use of the 1982 (anemic) Trans Am is allegorical to this movie: It's got the right name but is under-thought, underpowered and basically is just a diluted version of its former self.