Smokey and the Bandit

Name: Smokey and the Bandit
Item: Smokey and the Bandit
Rating: 3
Author: Renee Schonfeld

Movie review by

Renee Schonfeld, Common Sense Media

Common Sense says

age 13+

(i)

Car stunts, romance, and salty language in 1970s comedy.

PG
1977
96 minutes

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Parents say

age 9+

Based on 2 reviews

Kids say

age 12+

Based on 7 reviews

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Smokey and the Bandit

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A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

Positive Messages

Promotes friendship and loyalty. Values fulfilling a commitment and finishing a job. On the other hand, law enforcement is ridiculed, and the film takes delight in mild illegal behavior.

Positive Role Models & Representations

A charming rogue has his own code of honor: loyalty, tenacity, and honesty within his world of mild law-breaking and devotion to independence. Law-enforcement officers all are ineffective, buffoonish, and clumsy. The female heroine is feisty, confident, and assertive.

Violence

Extensive comic car crashes and stunts, but no injuries. One bar fight in which one character receives bruises. A dog is threatened.

Sex

Some romantic flirtation and kissing. The camera cuts away before any sexual activity is shown. A male character ogles a pretty woman.

Language

Mild and moderate obscenities: "bitch," "turd," "hell," "s--t," "dumbass," "goddamn," "fag," "take a leak," "F.O." Sexual put-downs and jokes: "I'd like to jump you," "Don't play with yourself," "to spot beavers," "knockers," "I'd like to take a run on her." One use of "f--k" is covered by a blaring horn. A character sends the "middle-finger salute."

Consumerism

The transportation of Coors beer is a central plot element. Other products shown: Coca-Cola, Allied Van Lines, Trans Am, CAT.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Several key characters smoke throughout. A scene in a bar shows people consuming alcoholic beverages.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Smokey and the Bandit is a mid-1970s car-chase comedy with a classic set of antiheroes outwitting bumbling law-enforcement officers on highways from Texas to Georgia. Likable characters break the law with abandon (and humor). Cars crash, roll over, and fly through the air throughout the film, but there are no injuries or deaths. One character is beaten up in a bar and appears battered afterward, and a dog is threatened. Almost everyone swears ("bitch," "s--t," "goddamn," "ass"); there are insults ("dummy," "fag," "turd,"); and sexual banter is used as a source of humor ("knockers," "I'd like to jump you," "poontang"). A romance results in kissing, but sexual activity is implied and not shown. Coors beer plays a prominent part in the story.

User Reviews

Parents say
Kids say

Adult Written byJjsjsjssj August 5, 2020

age 3+

It’s bad

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Parent of a 14-year-old Written byhimydudes December 27, 2018

age 15+

Great film!!!

Awesome film, however there are multiple uses of swearing. For example, words like sh-t and son of a bit-h are used many, many times. Many other swear words, no... Continue reading

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Teen, 14 years old Written byDogcat June 14, 2020

age 12+

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Teen, 17 years old Written byp1zza2345 March 30, 2020

age 13+

Best 70s movie ever produced.

This movie literally defined Burt Reynold's career and American culture in general. The music screams "country" in every way, and it is inspired... Continue reading

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What's the story?

Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and Cledus (Jerry Reed) are hell-bent on illegally transporting a truckload of Coors beer from Texas to Georgia in SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT. They have a 28-hour deadline, and they've made an $80,000 bet that they can do it. It isn't long before Texas troopers are alerted and the chase is on. The stakes get higher when Carrie (Sally Field), a runaway bride, convinces Bandit to help her escape. Her jilted bridegroom's father is a "Smokey" (a local term for "sheriff" -- played by comic actor Jackie Gleason), who has vowed to get Carrie back. Will Bandit and Carrie fall in love? Will Smokey be humiliated during endless encounters? Will Bandit and Cledus get the beer to Georgia? It's a mad dash across borders as the trio attempts to outwit and outrun their hapless pursuers.

Is it any good?

Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, and Jackie Gleason have a high time in this silly car-chase movie that was a big hit and spawned several sequels. Smokey and the Bandit is all crashes and booms, with a budding romance evolving between two very popular stars. It's Burt Reynolds at his most ingratiating and Sally Fields at her most adorable (well before her serious acting skills had been discovered by fans). It's always predictable and often funny; there's pratfall humor, with Smokey and his dim-witted son being made the butt of most of the jokes. The PG rating (issued well before the addition of PG-13) doesn't quite take into account the continuous swearing and sexual repartee.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about all the comic car accidents in Smokey and the Bandit. Why is awareness of the real consequences of such accidents important, particularly to kids and teens?
Clowns make wonderful villains in some comedies. In what ways is Sheriff Buford Justice a clown? How is he different from real police and law-enforcement officers?
In this movie the heroes constantly break laws, and it's all in fun. Do you think that may influence a younger viewer's attitude about laws and following rules? How can parents help clarify the issue?