by Adam Ritchie, Contributing Writer
Happy new year my loyal list of learners. I hope 2024 is a brilliant and cinematic year for you all. Since we last spoke, I have seen many great 20th Century Flicks. However, I choose to see this column as not only guiding you to the good, but also steering you away from the bad, while keeping in mind this is an opinion piece, if nothing else.
I was having one of those deep life lesson conversations with my (near) 17-year-old daughter the other day. It is summer holidays in Australia, and it is only me and her in the house while her twin brother is living it up in Japan for six weeks. As an offshoot of our D&M, she was telling me how worried she is about the future of the planet and society as a whole.
Although I sympathized and agreed with her wholeheartedly, it was admittedly hard for me to fully empathize. When I was growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s (shhhhh), 2024 was the very far and distant future. It was frankly an era I was excited to get to, mainly because Hollywood had painted this picture of utopian technological marvels where humans were an advanced and evolved being. Sadly, now that we are actually living in the future I once dreamed of, I also have some trepidation for the state of humanity, mainly because of that exact technology Hollywood had predicted. If only they had painted a picture of dystopia and war-ravaged landscapes that we took seriously. I guess it is human nature to hope for the best, and not believe that the worst predictions are possible. I mean, the Terminator series is basically a public service announcement now, isn’t it?
So in the spirit of time-traveling PSAs, I am going to dive back into the past and warn you about a notable comedy duology called The Cannonball Run.
This duology stars a who’s who of ‘70s and ‘80s legends from across mediums and genres, including Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Farrah Fawcett, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Shirley MacLaine, Marilu Henner, and Jamie Farr. And even Jackie Chan and Frank Sinatra make appearances as themselves.
The first film jumps straight into the action, with zero buildup or introduction, and this trend continues for the entirety of the duology. My biggest takeaway from this is that I truly learned what a two-dimensional character is. With zero to little character development or knowledge of these people, it makes the entire exercise feel pointless. Basically, the Cannonball Runis a race from point A to point B for a sum of cash I don’t even care to remember. Of course, each group of “racers” has their own selfless, greedy, or duplicitous motivations to win, and that’s about as much as we need to know, apparently.
I found it impossible to watch these movies for what they try to achieve, which is a mindless stunt fest full of creepy male gazes and some apparent comedy. Speaking of it is the basest of humor catering to people I hope to never meet.
As is the SiftPop way, we understand and are happy that you can get enjoyment from any film. However, I have to say the sub-optimal attempts at humor is not an era-related issue. It is lowest common denominator stuff made up of the cheapest jokes I’ve ever seen in a film.
Harsh? Maybe. Truth? 100%.
Onto the stunts and racing, they, again, feel cheap. The action is terribly edited to the point it renders any attempt at excitement as a lame duck. The cuts were seemingly done with a blunt butter knife, and I am staggered at how bad the action is, because it isn’t like the ‘80s hadn’t seen it done better before. This is all in two films which rely 80% on their stunts and action.
I am stupefied that these films were hits outside of the star power they had. Watch them only for the morbid curiosity.
You can read more from Adam Ritchie, and follow him on Twitter and Letterboxd