Smokey and the Bandit, Burt Reynolds’ most popular movie, is showing in theaters around the country for one week in remembrance of Burt.  Neither Ted nor I had ever seen the movie, and we’ll be traveling during the week it’s playing, so we invited Gary to see it with us.  I thoroughly enjoyed the show.  It probably holds the record for “longest chase scene,” since the entire movie is about Smokey (the police) chasing Bandit (Burt Reynolds) for transporting Coors beer from Texas to Georgia.  In 1977, Coors was only sold west of the Mississippi.

Bandit was well-known and popular, so people all along the five-state route used creative ways to detain the police.  That made it possible for Bandit (in his Trans Am) and Snowman, his partner in crime (in the 18-wheeler loaded with 400 cases of Coors beer) to meet the delivery deadline and collect the $80,000 fee.  That wasn’t much different from the kid who played hooky from high school for a day with help from what seemed like the entire city of Chicago in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

It was a PG-rated movie and good entertainment.