The Cannonball Run (1981)

So as you may have noticed, my blog has a slightly different look. My wife and I (mostly my wife) updated the design. I found the movie clips and she input it all into HTML. (Thanks Babe. *kiss*). So, now that I have more of an obvious reference to the movie “The Cannonball Run”, I think it’s time to try to explain my obsession with this movie.

I never saw this movie in the theater when it came out in 1981………..I was only 8 ½ and had no idea this movie existed. Thanks to the magic of cable TV and HBO, I became a huge fan of this movie and have been quoting it ever since. (I actually have an audio tape somewhere of me and a chidhood friend quoting the movie before our voices changed). I have always loved cars and anything having to do with cars since I was a kid, so this movie fit me perfectly. It’s all about “driving fast, staying out of trouble and having a good cover”. The comedy in this movie is obvious to most people, but there are certain references that only a freak like me would catch. For example, there are multiple references to the “Smokey and the Bandit” movies. Another ironic thing in this movie is that the character that is trying to prevent this “Sea to Shining Sea Trophy Memorial Dash” goes by the name of Arthur J. Foyt (played by George Furth)…………..which of course shortened is A.J. Foyt, who is one of the most famous and best Indy and NASCAR drivers in history.

OK, ok……….back to the actual movie. J.J. McClure (Burt Reynolds) is a racer that is going to take part in this illegal race from Connecticut to California along with his sidekick Victor Prinzim (Dom DeLuise), who has an inferiority complex and turns into Captain Chaos whenever he feels threatened. J.J. likes Victor but hates Chaos although he needs him because he drives so well. They’re trying to figure out what kind of car to drive until the get into a boating accident that lands them in an ambulance. Once they see how fast they get thru the traffic, they know they’ve found their vehicle for the race. (The ambulance that they use in the movie actually was run in the real Cannonball by writer Brock Yates and director Hal Needham.)

Other characters in the movie are Fenderbaum (Sammy Davis Jr.) and Jamie Blake (Dean Martin). Both of them are drunks and decide that they should dress as priests to get out of tickets if they happen to get pulled over in their red Ferrari 308. Roger Moore also plays a character by the name of Seymour Goldfarb, Jr. He is obsessed with the James Bond character so much that he has done whatever possible to look and act like him. He then is mistaken as being George Hamilton (not in the movie) by one of his female counterparts that he picks up along the way. Terry Bradshaw, Mel Tillis, Jack Elam, Jamie Farr, Jackie Chan, Farrah Fawcett and Adrienne Barbeau all have major characters in this movie. There are also cameos by Peter Fonda and Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder.

Long story short, they all race across the country pulling pranks to slow each other down. The winner ends up being two women in a black Lamborghini Countach, which always bothered me. They left before J.J. and Victor, but by them punching the time clock first makes them the winner. J.J. is right behind her when she does it but he left after her, so if he punched his ticket, his time would have been faster!! Of course that would mess up the whole ending of the movie, so I guess I'll let it slide. The bloopers are great at the end of this movie as well, so if you ever watch it, make sure to watch it thru the credits. There was a Cannonball Run II in 1984, but it was no where near as good as the original, although it was Dean Martin's last movie before he died.

OK..............as a final note, I can quote this movie from beginning to end...........all 96 minutes of it. Now that's I've admitted how much of a freak I am, are there any questions?