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snarky or airheaded characters comedically make their respective ways through different situations. Each is only peripherally tied to the plot and three or perhaps four more could have fleshed out the 95 minute running time.

It features a grab bag of 1970s kitsch icons in a strange ensemble cast and was apparently aimed at audiences who found Smokey & the Bandit and its sequels to be too cerebral. The stars in this film that really are actors can't seem to help smirking and treat this whole thing as a joke. There is a gag reel at the end but pretty much the whole movie looks like a gag reel anyhow. Burt Reynolds trademark gum chewing and high-pitched cackle (probably still giddy over the paycheque he got for this) are displayed here in place of a real performance.

Jamie Farr plays an ethnic stereotype here at the height of a career in which he starred as a crossdresser on a long-running sitcom. Farrah Fawcett (received a Razzie award nomination for Worst Supporting actress for her role in this) was made a star by appearing in Faberge commercials and Charlie's Angels. These two weren't exactly slumming by appearing in this. Yet they are master thespians when compared with some of the other cast members.

The stars in this film that are not actors are many. Rock star ex-wife Bianca Jagger, country singer Mel Tillis, football players Terry Bradshaw and Joe Klecko, Las Vegas betting guru Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder. You will see countless other familiar faces which go uncredited.

In and of itself this movie was a statement on modern popular culture and its obsession with celebrity. You can see that it got greenlighted for the resonance the people that bankrolled it thought it would have simply looking at the demographics these celebrities from various fields of endeavour appeal to. It is cynical to make movies by looking at what people or events or phenomena will evoke strong feelings from the public. But in the case of this film the result was a sizeable box-office hit.

Burt Reynolds, while walking through his role in this, deserves credit for serving as the bulwark of this engine of economic growth. It is a testament to his star power at the time that this monstrosity got made at all and that it made so much money. Reynolds became a victim of his success in a way because of it and was persuaded to follow this up with a sequel (which was marginally better than this proved to be) and other rubbish like Stroker Ace.

He had teamed up with Hal Needham before to make two Smokey

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