Hooper

The rich vein of 'innocent' anarchy running through Burt Reynolds comedy showcases around this time is mined again to good effect as his Smokey and the Bandit persona transmutes seamlessly into the ace Hollywood stuntman of the title, and director Needham (an ex-stuntman himself) slips effortlessly into a lightweight satire of the movie biz and an almost Hawksian action-comedy of male-group professionalism. Formula stuff as Reynolds' over-the-hill stuntman faces the toll of his injuries, and battles against the multiple hazards of low budget, high risk production, irate girlfriend and challenge from younger rival. Plus, naturally, The Big Stunt. But it's all surmounted by the irrepressible and irresistible Reynolds ego, which accommodates both the hagiography of a Tammy Wynette soundtrack dirge and the self-mockery of a screening of stunt footage from Deliverance to a sleeping audience.