Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)

The Bandit goes on another cross-country run, transporting an elephant from Florida to Texas. And, once again, Sheriff Buford T. Justice is on his tail.

Director:

Hal Needham

Writers:

Hal Needham (characters created by), Robert L. Levy (characters created by)

Stars:

Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Reynolds	...	Bandit
Jackie Gleason	...	Sheriff Buford T. Justice / Gaylord Justice / Reginald Van Justice
Jerry Reed	...	Cledus
Dom DeLuise	...	Doc
Sally Field	...	Carrie
Paul Williams	...	Little Enos
Pat McCormick	...	Big Enos
David Huddleston	...	John Conn
Mike Henry	...	Junior
John Anderson	...	Governor
Brenda Lee	...	Nice Lady
Phil Balsley	...	Himself (as The Statler Brothers)
Lew DeWitt	...	Himself (as The Statler Brothers)
Don Reid	...	Himself (as The Statler Brothers)
Harold Reid	...	Himself (as The Statler Brothers)

Storyline

It's been a few years since Cletus and the Bandit made their famous 28-hour run to Texas for a few cases of Coors. Bandit is now a washed-up has-been living in the past, until Big Enos and Little Enos make him another offer: Transport a live Elephant across country in 3 days or less.

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Plot Keywords:

sheriff | road movie | elephant | on the road | car crash | 

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Taglines:

Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, and Jackie Gleason are back and even better than ever in "Smokey & The Bandit II".

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

15 August 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Smokey and the Bandit Have a Baby

Filming Locations:

Orange Bowl - 1501 N.W. 3rd Street, Miami, Florida, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,883,835, 17 August 1980

Gross USA:

$66,132,626

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,Rastar Pictures,Rastar Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After the "doc" is conned into helping with Charlotte, the ambulance he was in that left him behind suddenly stops when an alligator is in the middle of the road, the stretcher pops out the back and the license plate on the back of the stretcher is 999007, the same plate number as the Rescue Squad vehicle from Emergency, which was a Universal TV series that aired its last episode while this movie was in production.

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Goofs

No animal would be kept inside a crate for 3-4 weeks while it goes through "quarantine".

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Quotes

Doc: Sure, take her in the truck, make the baby go bada-bing, bada-boom, but I'll tell you this, I'm not going to be responsible.
[walks off muttering Italian]
Cledus Snow: [to the Bandit] Don't you understand English? He says you can't be shaking Charlotte around in that truck, she's gonna have a baby!
'Bandit': We're talking about $400,000, do you understand that? This is our last chance! $400,000!
Cledus Snow: I understand $400,000 and I would like to get my share of $400,000, but I ain't gonna kill an elephant to get it.

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Crazy Credits

In the end credits, as the final actor: 1980 TRANS AM ... "Son of Trigger"

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Connections

Referenced in Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

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Soundtracks

Tulsa Time
Written by Danny Flowers (as D. Flowers)
Sung by Don Williams

User Reviews

Leftovers from Cannonball Run

It's fairly obvious that Smokey and the Bandit II was filmed directly before (or during) the making of Canonnonball Run. Obviously they had a lot of well-known faces from the CR movie, and they had them stick around for some S&tB shots, then built a story around them as best they could. If you look at each of the cameos, you see they have no tie to the storyline, all they have in common is Reynolds and Gleason. If you want to see a much better Burt Reynolds / Dom Delouis movie, rent CR (it's hokey too, but not quite as bad as this).

Movies like this get made all the time, where a very basic plot line is sketched out, and then the rest is filled in as the writers on the set come up with it. When good ideas get scarce, they try to fill the gaps with gags on a common theme. But like any good joke, it's only funny when it is at least semi-plausible. That's what made the original Smokey and the Bandit so much fun. But S&tB II is just TOO unbelievable to be funny any more. It might appeal to 12 year olds, but the original audience of 16-25 year olds just don't find them funny.

All the negativeness of the above aside, S&tB II is still better than part III. I didn't think it could get worse, but...