Konterr Brilliant and touching

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

bkoganbing According to the Films of Henry Fonda from the Citadel Film Series, The Great Smokey Roadblock was on the shelf for two years before being released. After that I suppose the producers decided this one was strictly for the red state drive in trade. I certainly don't remember it being exhibited in Brooklyn at the time.It's not a bad film, it was the kind of thing that Fonda did during that last decade, mostly films strictly for the paycheck and no strain on any ability. He's a typical red state hero, a hard working truck driver who because of a prolonged hospital stay was unable to keep up payments on his big rig and the bank repossessed it. Not something you do to Fonda who steals the truck back and goes looking for a last big load.And what a load it is. A favorite place of Fonda's a cat house that caters to men of the road has been shut down and Eileen Brennan and her girls have been told to cease and desist. But she's got a new location in South Carolina so she moves bag and all the baggage with Fonda from Wyoming.The film has a few laughs but some serious flaws as well. Try as I might I could not understand why the eyes of a nation should be focused on Fonda and his plight. Nor could I understand why he could not get a legitimate load for his vehicle even if it was stolen in the eyes of the law. Why should those shipping if he's got a good reputation care? And the villain of the piece drugstore cowboy truck driver Gary Sandy was hostile to Fonda for reasons that were never made clear. And Robert England's character of a hitchhiker Fonda picks up along the way is never really any kind of coherent.I did enjoy sheriff Dub Taylor and how the women got around him after he jails Fonda and them. And the women do have a good way for paying for gas, food and lodging.Young Susan Sarandon had a bit role as one of Eileen Brennan's girls. The Great Smokey Roadblock while not great was better than a lot of what Fonda was in during his last decade.

Ollyda It has to be said that this is a pretty terrible film. Nevertheless I watched it again recently and quite enjoyed it so I feel I ought to say something positive. First of all you would think that a film with a cast which includes Henry Fonda, Eileen Brennan, Dub Taylor and Susan Sarandon should have something going for it. The tone of the overall film is of a rather cartoonish comedy but the early scenes hint at something more substantial. Henry Fonda as Elegant John is ill and probably dying and the cross country drive he undertakes is his way of defying death. Yet this theme is never explored any further. Elegant John's reminiscences about meeting Eleanor Roosevelt in the Depression era clearly evoke Henry Fonda's role in John Ford's film "The Grapes of Wrath". Indeed when Elegant John picks up Beebo this exactly parallels the opening scene of "The Grapes of Wrath" when Tom Joad hitches a lift. None of this is played out in the rest of the film The women from the whorehouse are endearing and funny and if the film had stuck to playing out their adventures it might have been much more rewarding. But half way through the film something goes horribly wrong. Perhaps the filmmakers lost their nerve, ran short of funds or had the film cut to ribbons in editing but the latter part of the film bears no relation to what has gone before. The women virtually disappear without explanation. The irritating John Byner and Austin Pendleton characters appear and take over. This whole element of the film feels like a reshoot or reedit grafted on to the earlier picture. Pity. There is also, incidentally, a really excellent score by Craig Safan which deserved far better.

doriweb I was the Production Accountant on this movie, and I also got to do some voice-over work on it, so I'm not entirely unbiased, but if it were awful, I would say so. I thought it was a fun film, not a critically acclaimed masterpiece, by any means, but there were plenty of laughs along the way. The Bible states that laughter does good like a medicine, so watching this movie could be good for your health.So many of the actors in this picture hadn't yet reached their peak at the time we made this film. Susan Sarandon, of course, is one who has since gone on to much greater fame. Melanie Mayron was seen on TV on a weekly basis as a photographer in the "Thirty-Something" TV drama series. Robert Englund later became known as Freddie Krueger, still haunting people's dreams. One of my personal favorite actors on this show was Dub Taylor, who played the sheriff. He was an excellent comedic actor, and a truly nice, sincere person. We all had fun working on this show, and I think that fun comes through.

Scott_Mercer ** SPOILERS ON THE ROAD!!! ** I was ready for another 1970's car chase/truckin'/CB radio movie.That isn't what I got.I was ready for a ridiculous comedy.That isn't what I got.What I got was more of a dramedy. Don't get me wrong, there are many moments of slapstick, goofiness and ribaldry. After all, much of the plot concerns the fates of hookers and their Madam. Also, some marijuana is smoked. I believe that this was mandatory in movies made in the Seventies, be they Blaxploitation films or nature documentaries. Also, Nietzsche is mentioned and quoted, several times. Ouch. Them's the Seventies for ya.And yes, there is a cross-country road journey. In a big 18-wheeler. It also happens to be stolen. And there is a roadblock of police cars that gets smashed.But all of that was sort of just window dressing, beside the point of the movie. The movie is really about kicking death in the ass and going out in style and with dignity, instead of wasting away in a hospital bed. Kids, this is more James L. Brooks territory than Roger Corman. Elegant John, Henry Fonda's character, retains his dignity, and heads out on the open road with no money, for one last adventure. And he gets it, in spades, before he shuffles off this mortal coil, just short of completing that elusive "one last perfect run." The most bothersome parts to me are the shifts in tone, from pathos to wacky slapstick. Actually, I guess life is like that sometimes, but this isn't life, it's a movie, and this could have been handled a little more deftly. There are a few jarring shifts in tone. Also, the pace is a little slow. It takes far too long for our hero to load up his truck with hookers and hit the road. Even the fact of the stolen truck, which should be titillating and exploitive, is sad and winsome: he stole back his own truck which was repossessed because he was sick in the hospital and missed his payments because he couldn't work.Most of the actors are spot on. Fonda is rock solid as always. Eileen Brennan is great. Robert Englund is funny and highly believable. Susan Sarandon is adorable and charming. Dub Taylor does that same insane character he always plays. And John Byner and Austin Pendleton are really freaking annoying. Especially Austin Pendleton. But that's what he does. Asking Austin Pendleton to avoid being annoying is akin to asking a plant to stop photosynthesizing.Having made all the objections I have, I would still rate this film as better than expected, but can't recommend it without reservations. You will be disappointed if you're looking for another Smokey and The Bandit. It seems like the filmmakers wanted you as the viewer to reach for the handkerchief far too much, and far too little for the beer. By the same token, those looking for a good weeper are not going to turn to this occasionally ribald semi-slapstick comedy with the exploitation title.