History Film / SmokeyAndTheBandit

->''"East bound and down, loaded up and truckin'..."''

* EpicRace: Against the clock. Big and Little Enos bet the Bandit and Snowman $80,000 dollars (over $300K in today's money) that they can't drive out to Texarkana, pick up a shipment of Coors, and then drive it back to Atlanta within 28 hours.

* HollywoodLaw: Sheriff Buford T. Justice is under the impression that being in 'hot pursuit' means that he has the authority to pursue the Bandit wherever he goes. That's not exactly how it works. That part of the hot pursuit doctrine does grant him the authority to chase Bandit over the county line (it was written so the police would not be hamstrung by red tape when dealing with criminals who immediately cross the border to another jurisdiction). He would not have the authority to continue chasing him all the way across that county and into the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, ultimately resulting in a chase across multiple ''states''. There is a point where Buford would be obliged to turn over the chase to people with either local jurisdiction for that region (the other local sheriffs) or simply a wider jurisdiction (state police or the FBI). Though even ''that'' could cause some potential difficulties, as at the beginning of the chase Buford didn't even have any proof that Bandit was doing anything illegal (yes, he ''was'' hauling several hundred cases of beer that was illegal to ship in bulk to that part of the country at the time, but Buford didn't know that), he was chasing the man for purely personal reasons. ''Making the entire pursuit illegal even within Buford's own jurisdiction.''

** While northern Georgia has mountains, Northeastern Texas does not, as the nearest is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouachita_Mountains 100 miles]] to the north.

The plot revolves around truck driver Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds), who is offered $80,000 to bootleg four hundred cases of Coors beer[[note]]At the time the movie was made, it was illegal to ship Coors in bulk to the southeastern US because Coors hadn't gotten around to acquiring the relevant business licenses yet[[/note]] from Texarkana, UsefulNotes/{{Texas}}, to the Southern Classic truck rodeo in UsefulNotes/{{Georgia|USA}} within 28 hours. The Bandit recruits fellow trucker Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Reed) to make the journey with him, with the Bandit's [[CoolCar Pontiac Firebird Trans Am]] acting as a blocker for Snowman's rig. On the journey back, the Bandit picks up a RunawayBride named Carrie (Field), making him the target of the jilted groom's father, [[InspectorJavert Sheriff Buford T. Justice]] (Gleason). {{Hilarity|Ensues}} and a chase across the South ensue.

* SmallTownTyrant: Buford T. Justice has no idea that The Bandit is hauling illegal beer, which would have justified the pursuit at least within his jurisdiction -- if not for the fact that he leaves said jurisdiction almost immediately. His pursuit is entirely [[ItsPersonal for personal reasons]] and thus qualifies as being corrupt. Of course, the titular Bandit ''is'' breaking the law left and right, so [[GreyAndGrayMorality neither party comes to the plot with clean hands.]]

* PlotHole: Buford never learns about the illegal cargo of beer; The Bandit never learns that the man that Frog left at the altar is Buford's son.

''Smokey'' was the second highest-grossing movie of 1977, beaten to the #1 spot by a small indie sci-fi picture called [[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]], and established Burt Reynolds as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood in the late '70s and early '80s. Two sequels were made, ''Smokey and the Bandit II'' in 1980 and ''Smokey and the Bandit Part 3'' in 1983, the latter with Gleason and Reed but sans Reynolds and Field (Reed's Snowman becoming a "new" Bandit), though Reynolds makes a cameo near the end. They did not end up doing as well in competition with the respective ''Franchise/StarWars'' films at the box office. In 1994, a grand total of four made-for-TV ''Bandit'' movies based upon the original trilogy were produced. They were subsequently released in a box set along with the original three, likely surprising many fans unaware of their existence.

* DisguisedInDrag: Big Enos and Little Enos in an adult hotel. They didn't even bother in removing their moustaches, but [[AnythingThatMoves that didn't stop the group of men]], with [[AmbiguouslyGay Little Enos]] [[EvenTheGuysWantHim trying to remember one of the men's numbers]].

The plot revolves around truck driver Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds), who is offered $80,000 to bootleg four hundred cases of Coors beer[[note]]At the time the movie was made, it was illegal to ship Coors in bulk to the southeastern US because Coors hadn't gotten around to acquiring the relevant business licenses yet[[/note]] from Texarkana, UsefulNotes/{{Texas}}, to the Southern Classic truck rodeo in UsefulNotes/{{Georgia|USA}} within 28 hours. The Bandit recruits fellow trucker Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Reed) to make the journey with him, with the Bandit's [[CoolCar Pontiac Firebird Trans Am]] acting as a blocker for Snowman's rig. On the journey back, the Bandit picks up a RunawayBride named Carrie (Field), making him the target of the jilted groom's father, [[SmallTownTyrant Sheriff Buford T. Justice]] (Gleason). {{Hilarity|Ensues}} and a chase across the South ensue.

* BrickJoke: The first time Buford's watch goes off, he explains that it uses an algorithm developed by a pair of monks to detect stress. When it goes off while he's chewing out Junior over ruining his attempt to arrest The Bandit, he looks at it and snaps "Shut your face! And that goes for the two monks too!"

* GreasySpoon: A rest-stop burger joint is referred to as the "Choke-and-puke" over the CB radio.

* {{Malaproper}}: Buford has entered Desha County, Arkansas in his pursuit of the Bandit. When Sheriff Branford tells him he's out of jurisdiction and the fact that Buford being a sheriff isn't germane to the situation, Buford splutters "The Goddam Germans got nothin' to do with it!"

* AluminumChristmasTrees:
** In 1977, it was indeed illegal to ship large amounts of Coors beer east of UsefulNotes/{{Texas}} due to state alcohol laws at the time. Since, at the time, the company still produced all of its beer in UsefulNotes/{{Colorado}}, it didn't bother to seek state licenses for parts of the country outside of a comfortable shipping range.
** There really was a Pontiac police package in the '70s. One was offered on the Catalina, another on the [=LeMans=], the latter being nicknamed the "[=LeMans=] Enforcer"

''Smokey'' was the second highest-grossing movie of 1977, beaten to the #1 spot by ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ANewHope'', and established Burt Reynolds as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood in the late '70s and early '80s. Two sequels were made, ''Smokey and the Bandit II'' in 1980 and ''Smokey and the Bandit Part 3'' in 1983, the latter with Gleason and Reed but sans Reynolds and Field (Reed's Snowman becoming a "new" Bandit), though Reynolds makes a cameo near the end. They did not end up doing as well in competition with the respective ''Star Wars'' films at the box office. In 1994, a grand total of four made-for-TV ''Bandit'' movies based upon the original trilogy were produced. They were subsequently released in a box set along with the original three, likely surprising many fans unaware of their existence.