Burt Reynolds brings his signature laugh and effortless-carefree-charm as “The Greatest Stuntman Alive” Sonny Hooper, and Sally Field reignites the onscreen chemistry the two shared in their hit Smokey and the Bandit, as Hooper’s girlfriend Gwen. Gwen desperately wants Hooper to walk away from the stunt game while he can still walk at all (his doctor has warned that he’s one bad fall away from becoming a quadriplegic), however, Hooper’s willing to take pain injections to try and make it through filming. The stakes get higher when narcissistic director Roger – played with egomaniacal perfection by Robert Klein – wants the biggest stunt of all-time in his movie’s finale, so Hooper teams up with the new fearless young stuntman Delmore “Ski” Shidski (Jan-Michael Vincet) with plans to launch a rocket car over a 335-foot gorge, risking everything for a 100K payday before calling it quits. Hal Needham (Smokey and the Bandit) who started out as a stuntman, brings the fun and directs a wonderful cast that includes: Brian Keith, James Best, Adam West, a barroom brawling Terry Bradshaw, and one of the first ever end credit “blooper” reels.
“Mr. Reynolds has made a movie to please fans of all persuasions, and to please them a great deal.” – Janet Maslin, The New York Times
“With this film, Needham demonstrates conclusively that he is far more than simply a spirited action director, eliciting beautiful performances from every member of his large and carefully chosen cast.” – Arthur Knight, The Hollywood Reporter
“The performances in this story of three generations of Hollywood stuntmen are a delight. And Hal Needham’s direction and stunt staging are wonderfully crafted.” – Variety
