Hooper.

Review #2011: Hooper.

Cast: 

Burt Reynolds (Sonny Hooper), Sally Field (Gwen Doyle), Jan-Michael Vincent (Delmore "Ski" Shidski), Brian Keith (Jocko Doyle), Robert Klein (Roger Deal), John Marley (Max Berns), James Best (Cully), Alfie Wise (Tony), Adam West (himself), and Terry Bradshaw (Brawler) Directed by Hal Needham (#033 - Smokey and the Bandit, #034 - The Cannonball Run, and #945 - Smokey and the Bandit II)

Review: 

The stuntman does not get enough respect, if you think about it. They work hard in a profession where the danger can be apparent for any type of stunt, especially in the old days (Shark (1969) saw a stuntman get attacked and killed by a great white shark and then the producers put the footage in the film and change the title to reflect that...and that film had Reynolds as star). Yakima Canutt was the first stuntman to win an Academy Award, you know, being awarded an honorary one in 1967; it was he who performed the famous drop stunt in Stagecoach (1939). Of course, I mention this because of the fact that I am talking about a movie made by a former stuntman in Hal Needham with a star in Reynolds that was known for doing his own stunts. It was the second film in the career of Needham, who I'm sure we all know and well from Smokey and the Bandit, released one year prior to this film in 1977. The original basis for the film was set in 1975 with Lamont Johnson (best known for TV productions more than his films, which included The Last American Hero (1973)) slated to direct it for Warner Bros., but delays related to the dispute over the original title (The Stuntman) eventually led to Needham becoming involved (incidentally, that film that caused the name dispute, named The Stunt Man, was released in 1980). The screenplay was done by Thomas Rickman and Bill Kerby, while the story was done by Walt Green and Walter S. Herndon. This was the second film with Needham and Reynolds, who were such good friends with each other that it served as one of the inspirations for the dynamic in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). After the film, Needham would direct seven further feature films (with a handful of TV productions, but we are only talking about his run that ended with Rad in 1986), four of which had Reynolds as a star, albeit with mixed returns.

The following organizations are listed in the credits: the Stuntmen’s Association of Motion Pictures, Inc., Black Stuntmen’s Association of Hollywood, Stuntwomen’s Association, Society of Professional Stuntwomen and Stunts Unlimited. It is definitely a movie made by someone that wants to show perspective in the stuntman in all of the strange ways possible: fun, if not painful when handled incorrectly. At his best, Reynolds had the charisma to make whatever he said come off with wonderful timing, and for the most part, it is true here in a film that is probably more charming than funny, a good ole' boy movie that one is already familiar with if they like stuff such as W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975) or Smokey and the Bandit. But beneath the humor is a movie that has one thing stick out among the stunts: everything is but a fleeting moment, and it always helps to take care of oneself when something of us (whether that involves a profession of risk-taking or say, being a teacher) reaches its end. So yes, it is a movie that hones what Needham seems to like most in filmmaking when it comes to staging crashes in quality spectacle while having the backdrop of moviemaking drama that would be right at home with something like, say, Souls for Sale (1923). Reynolds is self-deprecating and self-aware enough to make charm count double more than if it was a random actor told to play the role to generic macho levels. Inside the freewheeling spirit of a man who cracks jokes with a younger presence meant to take the place of guys like him is someone who has to grasp with just what he is going to do at the moment where everything he cares about goes in a flash being more than just "away in the distance". So yes, beyond the timely instances of people playing games on the highway and having goofball barfights to go with rocket cars is a movie that has the semblance of caring about the stunt person with some sort of heart on its sleeve. Reynolds, who would know more than anyone about having to learn for years what it really meant to be an presence in demand, handles things in the purest sense of charm, is what I am saying. Sure, the dynamic between him and Field is probably not as involving as their last pair-up in a film (the aforementioned Bandit), but they are still ideal in the winning sense of looking like people you would believe could share a room together without straining for words. Vincent is not so much a hotshot newcomer as an inevitability, one who seems totally fine with the idea of seeking the thrill of stunt performance to make himself a name in a town that will use him as they please until the end (if you think about it, Reynolds trying to make his mark with Vincent as basically living the last part of his dream through him seems familiar to those who like to live their fantasy through an actor they see in film). Evidently, the character Klein plays is based on Peter Bogdanovich, who directed Reynolds in At Long Last Love (1975) and Nickelodeon (1976), and Needham worked on the latter film as a stunt double for Reynolds. There is a story that Needham told once about a planned stunt where he would fall through a tree and Bogdanovich asked if he could go any higher, with Needham responding with "I can go as high as you like. You just have to keep adding zeroes to the number on that cheque." Needless to say, it is evident where Klein is coming from as the heel, and he does fine with it. Keith and his old rascal persona makes for engaging support when it comes to seeing how age treats the old hellraisers, while Best (a regular presence in television and film for a handful of decades) provides an amiable dynamic in parts with Reynolds. The film labors itself to relative familiarity by the time you are at the end of its 99 minute runtime, but there are plenty of familiar films that turn out pretty good because of the showmanship displayed in making it seem fitting to watch without waving away what you could see coming (in other words, a punch in the face is only as fun as how much it seems earned to watch play out). If the aforementioned Bandit film was like a deep-fried entree, Hooper is basically dessert, one that has a suitable conviction of showmanship to go with a few charming moments for classic Reynolds fun, which means one's enjoyment of it will basically ride on how much they roll with the stunts that Needham and company wish to pull off.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Sounder.

Review #1972: Sounder.

Cast: 

Cicely Tyson (Rebecca Morgan), Paul Winfield (Nathan Lee Morgan), Kevin Hooks (David Lee Morgan), Carmen Matthews (Mrs. Rita Boatwright), Taj Mahal (Ike Phillips), James Best (Sheriff Charlie Young), Eric Hooks (Earl Morgan), Yvonne Jarrell (Josie Mae Morgan), Janet MacLachlan (Camille Johnson), Sylvia "Kuumba" Williams (Harriet), Ted Airhart (Mr. Perkins), Richard Durham (Perkins' Foreman), and Jerry Leggio (Prison Guard) Directed by Martin Ritt (#1411 - Hud)

Review: 

There were many types of films released in the 1970s that dealt with Black folks besides "blaxploitation" (which to be clear, had plenty of good films), ones that seemed to be a breadth of fresh air for making a quality family film for the whole audience. Given the notice of films such as Gordon Parks' The Learning Tree (1969), it shouldn't be too surprising to see features such as this one, which is an adaptation of the 1969 young adult novel of the same name that was written by William H. Armstrong. He had been inspired by an account told around the kitchen table by his family as a youth along with the story of Argus, a dog in Homer's Odyssey that awaited its master after twenty years (so yes, the title of the movie and book refers to a dog, but the movie is the only one that gives every character a name). Lonnie Elder III, an actor and playwright best known for his play Ceremonies in Dark Old Men (produced by the Negro Ensemble Company in 1969; by coincidence, one of the co-founders of the Company was Robert Hooks, father of Kevin Hooks) wrote the screenplay for the film, the first of four screenplays he did in screenwriting (which included the obscure Part 2, Sounder in 1976); he wanted to keep the film accurate in historical context without going off on "any present-day fantasies." Elder III became the first African American man to be nominated for an Academy Award for screenwriting, while this film became the first to have two African Americans nominated for Academy Awards with Tyson and Winfield. Made on a budget slightly under $2 million, the film was shot in St. Helena Parish and East Feliciana Perish in Louisiana. 

There is a clear sense of dignity and struggle that is shown throughout a mostly unsentimental 105-minute feature that is pretty good at the goals set out by its filmmakers (Ritt, who had directed a flop in his previous film adaptation in The Great White Hope (1970), took a massive pay cut to do this film). It manages to exceed comparisons one might have to other period dramas (such as the aforementioned Tree feature) that earns its emotional highs without strain. Whether favoring rural living or the big city, the movie works well for everyone without selling itself short in a tale of survival. Tyson was only cast for a lead role rather than a supporting role when Ritt erased his doubts of her being "too pretty" when she convinced him of her talent. She had acted in a variety of supporting roles in plays, film and television since the late 1950s after moving from acting from her first job as a fashion model (one would not suspect Tyson was fifteen years older than Winfield). She provides dignified presence in all the ways that matter in expression, one that leads the film along in eloquence you would see for a family film without artifice. Winfield had a handful of television roles and minor roles since the 1960s, but the Dallas native got his most notable moment with this film, one that shows him in warm strength that proves quite striking when seen before and after his key action in theft that doesn't erase our curiosity for him. Hooks provides the eyes of what we see for a good chunk of the film as the lead child actor of the film, which he handles quite well. when it comes to the expression of love for a pet, the love of reading or in general the love for striving for better things. It is a movie that we feel the heat and beauty of in its setting of the mid 1930s that isn't beholden to dull moments or artifice, such as when Tyson's character diffuses how the family minus Winfield will do what is needed to sharecrop. The scene where Hooks' character sees a school with all Black students and hears about the writings of W.E.B. DuBois is also an important highlight when it comes to the final decision set out by the main three involving the importance of using one's time for decision-making rather than letting things stay as they are. No matter what taste one has for films (action, suspense, you get the idea), the movie works for each side of the moviegoer, as evidenced by its staying power a half-century later. Ultimately, Sounder is a worthwhile period film of conviction and entertainment from top to bottom that shows worthwhile perspective of a Black Americans that shows compassion on its sleeve without blatantly requesting your pity.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Next up: Gordon's War.