The Cannonball Run (1981)

My Review

“The Cannonball Run” is a classic Burt Reynolds vehicle where he and his friends tell inside show-biz jokes while involved in a cross country car race. Capable direction by former stuntman Hal Needham (“Smokey and the Bandit” 1977) with a thin screenplay by Brock Yates, along with a big name cast, made this movie the sixth highest grossing film of 1981.

The celebrities joining Reynolds include Roger Moore, Dean Martin, Farrah Fawcett, Sammy Davis Jr., Dom DeLuise, Jackie Chan, Jamie Farr, Peter Fonda, Adrienne Barbeau, Bert Convey, Jack Elam, Bianca Jagger, Shirley MacLaine, Marilu Henner, Mel Tillis, Terry Bradshaw, and Valerie Perrine. All part of good old fashioned fun in the watchable “The Cannonball Run” from Golden Harvest Entertainment Group, Albert S. Ruddy Productions, and 20th Century Fox.

Farrah Fawcett was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress for her role in this movie. It was filmed in Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, Arizona, and Southern California. Two sequels followed – “Cannonball Run II” (1984) and “Speed Zone” (1989).