Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

When a movie is successful, there is a chance that someone will decide that a sequel needs to be made. That seems to be even more likely now than it has been in the past. I have enjoyed some sequels over the years, and some have even been a bit better than the first movies. Not all successful movies should have a sequel made though. Recently I was looking for something to watch and came across Smokey and the Bandit II on television which really illustrates that point. I have no idea why I left the movie on.

In the first Smokey and the Bandit movie, Bandit and Cledus made a trip across several states too win a bet from Big Enos and Little Enos. Bandit encountered Sheriff Buford T. Justice, who chased Bandit over his entire trip. Along the way, Carrie joined their trip. Carried left her husband to be, Junior, at the altar, right before she hooked up with Bandit. She was still wearing her wedding dress when they met. They hit it off and seemed to be interested in each other. Junior was Buford’s son, which gave him another reason to chase Bandit. Things had looked good for Bandit, Carrie, and Cledus after their adventure ended, but that changed. Bandit and Carrie hadn’t seen each other in months.

Bandit had tried to start a singing career, but that didn’t work out. He was spending his time drinking. Big Enos and Little Enos came up with a proposition for Bandit and Cledus. They would get $10,000 if they picked up something and delivered it by a certain time. Cledus wanted to do it because he needed the money. He managed to convince Bandit to do it. Cledus then had to get Bandit sober. Cledus decided to get Carrie to help him get Bandit in shape for the new adventure. Getting a share of the money sounded good to Carrie, so she agreed. Once again, she left Junior at the altar, ticking Buford off. He and Junior decided to go after Carrie and try to catch Bandit in the process.

Bandit wasn’t thrilled to see Carrie, especially when he found out she had been going to marry Junior, but he did get his act together. They went to pick up what they were supposed to deliver and discovered that it was an elephant named Charlotte. She rode in the trailer of Cledus’s semi truck. They started on their way and then Carrie and Cledus thought that something was wrong with Charlotte. They got Doc, a foreign doctor to check on Charlotte. Doc got left behind, and ended up going along, riding in the trailer with Charlotte. He decided that she was going to have a baby and shouldn’t be moved. Bandit wanted to keep going to get the money. Carrie and Cledus didn’t want to endanger the health of Charlotte or her unborn baby to win the bet. Buford and Junior kept after Bandit, and ended up in some strange situations. Buford even called in some of his relatives that were also in law enforcement to help catch Bandit.

CAST

Burt Reynolds - Bandit
Sally Field - Carrie
Jerry Reed - Cledus
Jackie Gleason - Buford T. Justice/Gaylord Justice/Reginald Van Justice
Dom DeLuise - Doc
Mike Henry - Junior
Pat McCormick - Big Enos
Paul Williams Little Enos

Hal Needham - Director

Smokey and the Bandit II was made in 1980 and rated PG. I have only seen this movie when I’ve found it on television. With commercials, it is two hours long. I don’t know how long it is without commercials or un-edited. I did notice several places where it sounded like some swearing had been edited out or changed.

Smokey and the Bandit II wasn’t that good of a movie. I have seen it more than once for some strange reason. I was a lot younger when I first saw the movie, and it didn’t seem as bad to me then. I have changed my opinion though. The movie was supposed to be a comedy, but it wasn’t that funny to me. Some of the messes that Buford ended up in, and his reactions to a few things were funny. Fred the dog made me giggle a few times. There were only a few things that made me laugh, and then only a little. There were some bloopers that ran during the closing credits. They were funnier than most of the movie. It’s a bad sign when the funniest parts of a comedy are the bloopers that run with the credits.

Smokey and the Bandit II was obviously the sequel to Smokey and the Bandit. I have seen the first movie several times, mostly when I was younger, and it did entertain me. The plot of it was different, but silly. Driving across several states just to get a few cases of beer was just stupid, as was the way Buford was obsessing about catching Bandit. It was realistic that a sheriff would go that far out of his jurisdiction after one person for the reasons that Buford had for going after Bandit. The plot of the second movie was even sillier. It wasn’t that different from the first movie, except Bandit and Cledus were transporting an elephant instead of beer. To make matters more silly, Charlotte, the elephant, was sick, and a foreign doctor with a horrible accent was taking care of her. Carrie had returned to Junior for some reason, and she left him at the altar again. The movie was too much like the first movie, only it was made ridiculous by the inclusion of the elephant. It was pointless and never should have been made. For some reason, a third move was made. It was even worse.

Bandit and Carrie had been involved and things ended between them before Smokey and the Bandit II started. After the relationship ended, she returned to Junior for some reason, and was ready to marry him again when Cledus called her. She did still have feelings for Bandit. They did discuss some things related to why things went bad between them, and they did seem to be getting involved again. They did spend a lot of time arguing and that did get old. Charlotte developed some sort of attraction to Bandit. She was always trying to get near him and wrapping her trunk around him. Charlotte got jealous if she saw Bandit and Carrie together. Bandit was supposed to be a lady’s man, and every where he went, there were women flirting with him. It was carrying things a bit to far to have a female elephant fall for him too. That was just absurd.

All of the main characters from Smokey and the Bandit returned for this sequel. The same actors also returned. There were a few new characters that turned up here and there. The only new character that was around much was Doc. He spent most of his time in the trailer with Charlotte. The acting in this movie was nothing special. Sally Field has done so much better. Burt Reynolds has been better too. Dom DeLuise was annoying as Doc. He talked with a really bad fake ascent. I can’t remember where he said he was from, but the accent was horrible. Jackie Gleason was good as Buford. He did the best he could with what he had to work with. Gleason also played the relatives that Buford called in to help catch Bandit. They were all basically the same as Buford with different accents and uniforms. When double checking on the cast list for the movie, I saw that the Statler Brothers were in the movie as themselves. They sang a silly song about being caught in Charlotte’s web.

CHARACTERS

Bandit - He had been famous for some reason - I can’t remember why now - and was having bad luck. He was doing nothing but drinking until he accepted another bet. He was a lady’s man. He really wanted to get the money, and was willing to risk the health of Charlotte and her unborn baby to get it. He could be stubborn.

Carrie - She was a former dancer. She agreed to help get Bandit back in shape for a cut of the money. She was a kind woman. She didn’t want to do anything that could be dangerous for Charlotte or the baby.

Cledus - He was a friend of Bandit’s. They worked together doing things for a while. Cledus got Bandit to agree to deliver Charlotte. Cledus drove a semi truck and his dog Fred rode with him.

Buford T. Justice - Sheriff that had it in for Bandit. Buford was determined to catch Bandit. Buford was having trouble with his blood pressure and was trying to do more to control his temper.

Junior - Buford’s son and the man Carrie left at the altar twice. Junior wasn’t very bright. He went around mostly doing whatever his father told him to do.

Big Enos and Little Enos - I think they were father and son, but I can’t remember for sure now. They had a lot of money, and enjoyed getting Bandit and Cledus to do strange things for money. They dressed alike all the time.

Smokey and the Bandit II was a silly movie. Being silly isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but this movie was also bad. The first movie wasn’t that great, but it was entertaining to me. This one is worse. Even people who loved the first movie shouldn’t bother with this one.

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Recommended: No