The Film:  The Cannonball Run

Year: 1981

Genre:  Action/Comedy

Directed By:  Hal Needham

Written By:   Brock Yates

Starring: Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuis, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jackie Chan

Why Rent It?

During the 1970s and through the 1980s, Burt Reynolds could do no wrong.

With The Cannonball Run, his streak hit a high-point in a film about a cross-country road race whose players were a who’s who of television and film stars.

The Breakdown:

The Cannonball Run is the story of a cross country road race.

When Roger Moore wasn’t being James Bond, he was busy being Roger Moore.

Making a film with so many stars has its fun moments.

Final Analysis: 

The Cannonball Run featured some of the biggest names of the decade, past decades, as well as some future stars.

Among the big names were: Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jackie Chan, Farrah Fawcett, Jamie Farr, Terry Bradshaw, Peter Fonda, and Bianca Jagger.

New York Times critic Vincent Camby said:

["The Cannonball Run"] is not something one watches in any conventional way.

One clocks it, yet it’s not an easy competition to clock.

It’s rather like trying to keep track of a turtle race in which all of the contestants have been wildly souped-up and each persists in speeding off in a different direction.

The film did well at the box office, becoming the 6th highest grossing film of 1981.

The Cannonball Run is available on Amazon and at Netflix.