CANNONBALL RUN II

US, 1983, 103 minutes, Colour.
Burt Reynolds, Dom De Luise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Ricardo Montalban, Jim Nabors, Susan Anton, Marilu Henner, Catherine Back, Jack Elam, Don Knotts, Jamie Farr, Telly Savalas, Jackie Chan, Shirley Mac Laine, Frank Sinatra.
Directed by Hal Needham.

Cannonball Run II is an inflated sequel to the Burt Reynolds vehicle Cannonball Run. The original was an entertaining, rather inane chase and race film - with many stars including Roger Moore. Farrah Fawcett, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr.

Some of these are back for the sequel - and even more. A lot of television personalities like Telly Savalas and Jamie Farr turn up. Shirley MacLaine? even has a featured role. There is glamour with Susan Anton, Catherine Bach and Marilu Henner. Frank Sinatra appears as himself. A wide range of character actors including Jack Elam, Don Knotts and Ricardo Montalban look in as well as Jim Nabors. Martial arts comic star Jackie Chan comes in for a bit of action. The film seems to be so busy introducing the stars and for them all to have a good time that, while they enjoy it, the audience is left like a group watching a party from the outside.

The plot-line is once again a race from here to there with cars, chases, crashes. Burt Reynolds walks through it all rather nonchalantly with Dom Deluise trying to cheer him up.

It is all cartoon material - co-written and directed by stunt expert Hal Needham (Cannonball Run, Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper).