I was at Wal-Mart the other day looking through the discount DVD bin when I came across an old favorite of mine, "Smokey and the Bandit." Actually, it was all seven "Smokey and the Bandit" movies. So of course I had to get it because I had only heard of the first two.
I have to admit, they are pretty cheesy, and unless you grew up in the 1970's and were part of the CB (citizens band radio) craze that swept the US back then, they might be a bit hard to understand. But if you think of them as a form of video archaeology of the way things were back then, they're pretty interesting. The plot (such as it is) revolves around an outlaw trucker named Bandit (Burt Reynolds), his partner Snowman (Jerry Reed) and the most inept lawman to ever appear on stage or screen, Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), the "Smokey" of the series. There are other characters as well. I warned you, they're cheesy. Basically Bandit and Snowman have to pick up a specified item at a certain destination and bring it back within a seemingly impossible time-frame and Sheriff Justice's job is to stop them any way he can. A lot of cars get wrecked--spectacularly wrecked--in the process. If you love demolition derbies, you will love these movies. If not, you've been warned.
Anyway, having come of age in the 1970's, it was very interesting (and also sad) to look back at the innocence of that time. Gas was less than 50 cents a gallon, much of the Interstate system was new and pristine; little did we know it would be our last hurrah. There is a hint--but just a hint--of what lies ahead in one shot that if you aren't paying close attention and you don't know what it means, you will miss it. And that is a Speed Limit 55 sign on one of the interstates. The country had just come out of the shock of the 1973 oil embargo, Jimmy Carter was in the White House dialing down the thermostat and wearing sweaters, and to conserve fuel the national speed limit on interstate highways was lowered from 70 mph to 55 mph. My God! That was the worst thing possible! How dare anyone dictate how fast we can drive! Never mind that slowing down did save fuel and save lives, it was Prohibition all over again. And that is where "Smokey and the Bandit" came in. Bandit was a national hero, thumbing his nose at the law.
Well, the speed limit eventually went back to 70. The thermostat went back up at the White House and the solar panels removed. Jimmy Carter was essentially laughed out of office for his insistence that the party was over and we needed to change our ways. But . . . but . . . but . . . Right now gas in my area is hovering around $3.50 a gallon and we think that's cheap. The days when I could pull into a gas station and tell the attendant "fill 'er up" are long past. There's no attendant, I have to pump it myself, and more and more often pay in advance. Oh yes, I can drive 70 miles an hour again, but I drive less and less and less. I seldom fill the tank all the way up and when I do I wince. No more the spur of the moment road trip to some destination a hundred or more miles away. Now even going to the nearest city requires some thought--how many trips have I made this week, how many more trips will I need to make before next payday, and can I afford it? Oh, Bandit, Bandit, you would weep to see what we have come to now!
I have to admit, they are pretty cheesy, and unless you grew up in the 1970's and were part of the CB (citizens band radio) craze that swept the US back then, they might be a bit hard to understand. But if you think of them as a form of video archaeology of the way things were back then, they're pretty interesting. The plot (such as it is) revolves around an outlaw trucker named Bandit (Burt Reynolds), his partner Snowman (Jerry Reed) and the most inept lawman to ever appear on stage or screen, Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), the "Smokey" of the series. There are other characters as well. I warned you, they're cheesy. Basically Bandit and Snowman have to pick up a specified item at a certain destination and bring it back within a seemingly impossible time-frame and Sheriff Justice's job is to stop them any way he can. A lot of cars get wrecked--spectacularly wrecked--in the process. If you love demolition derbies, you will love these movies. If not, you've been warned.
Anyway, having come of age in the 1970's, it was very interesting (and also sad) to look back at the innocence of that time. Gas was less than 50 cents a gallon, much of the Interstate system was new and pristine; little did we know it would be our last hurrah. There is a hint--but just a hint--of what lies ahead in one shot that if you aren't paying close attention and you don't know what it means, you will miss it. And that is a Speed Limit 55 sign on one of the interstates. The country had just come out of the shock of the 1973 oil embargo, Jimmy Carter was in the White House dialing down the thermostat and wearing sweaters, and to conserve fuel the national speed limit on interstate highways was lowered from 70 mph to 55 mph. My God! That was the worst thing possible! How dare anyone dictate how fast we can drive! Never mind that slowing down did save fuel and save lives, it was Prohibition all over again. And that is where "Smokey and the Bandit" came in. Bandit was a national hero, thumbing his nose at the law.
Well, the speed limit eventually went back to 70. The thermostat went back up at the White House and the solar panels removed. Jimmy Carter was essentially laughed out of office for his insistence that the party was over and we needed to change our ways. But . . . but . . . but . . . Right now gas in my area is hovering around $3.50 a gallon and we think that's cheap. The days when I could pull into a gas station and tell the attendant "fill 'er up" are long past. There's no attendant, I have to pump it myself, and more and more often pay in advance. Oh yes, I can drive 70 miles an hour again, but I drive less and less and less. I seldom fill the tank all the way up and when I do I wince. No more the spur of the moment road trip to some destination a hundred or more miles away. Now even going to the nearest city requires some thought--how many trips have I made this week, how many more trips will I need to make before next payday, and can I afford it? Oh, Bandit, Bandit, you would weep to see what we have come to now!
