Smokey and the Bandit, Part 2

[Malcolm]

Synopsis:
After the original Smokey and the Bandit, an insane and probably coked up executive saw Any Which Way But Loose and thought, "Orangutan? Fuckers were thinking too small."

Review:
This franchise and Jaws represent some of the biggest drops in quality when one examines the original and compares it to the sequel. Jaws had an excuse because they killed off the best character in Quint and Spielberg decided not to come back to direct. Smokey Pt 2 has: Burt, Jerry, Sally, same director, same exec producer, same producer. They changed up the entire screenwriting team and shat out an elephant-sized dung heap of a film because of it. There's a great scene early on where Bandit's a pathetic, hungover, alcoholic, self-deluded version of himself, going on about his failed country album and drowning in self-pity and sorrow. In a nutshell, that's what Smokey Pt 2 is to its predecessor.

Anyhow, the crazy millionaires contract Bandit and Snowman to haul a motherfucking elephant to the Republican convention in Dallas. Snowman calls Sally, who ditches Junior in the same fucking way as before, because she ... I don't know, they don't have a good excuse. Something about trying to get Bandit back into shape, physically and mentally, again. They piss away most of their time putting Burt through homemade rehab and only learn about the true nature of their cargo when they arrive at the pickup point. They also load up another elephant named Dom DeLuise, because why the fuck not? He was trendy at the time and there was most likely enough whiskey and blow flowing to get the casting director to call anyone.

Jackie Gleason does his "angry Southern lawman constantly on the edge of a heart attack" bit and spits out every "sumbitch" with the same noble yet futile resolve that Donald Pleasance brought to Dr. Sam Loomis whenever he said, "You don't understand, Michael Myers IS coming!"

Verdict:
I'm going with the Jaws analogy. Jaws >> Jaws 2 > Jaws 3-D > Jaws 4: Cape Fear with a Shark. Much in the same manner, Smokey >> Smokey Pt 2 > Smokey Pt 3. But that's another review.