Bobby "Gator" McKlusky (Burt Reynolds) is in prison for running moonshine, AKA white lightning, when he is told that his brother has been murdered. The killer is the sheriff of Bogan County, J. C. Connors (Ned Beatty). Instantly determined to avenge his brother, he fails in an escape attempt. Desperate, he agrees to help the Feds make a case against Sheriff Connors. Provided a souped-up 1971 Ford Galaxie, he wrangles a job with the local moonshiners in Bogan County. However, Sheriff Connors connections in Washington warn him that someone has been sent to expose his corruption. Can Gator get the goods on the sheriff before the sheriff lays hands on him?
This reminded me a lot of Smokey and the Bandit, only taken seriously. Burt can be charming and a smart aleck, but he's as often serious and moody. His interactions with the ladies call to mind the Bandit. Ned Beatty is surprisingly intimidating for a short, pudgy fellow who seems outwardly genial. Matt Clark, who I recognized immediately but couldn't name a single film in which I saw him, plays Dude, a harried mechanic and Gator's first contact for infiltrating the moonshine ring. Diane Ladd plays Dude's wife and, to my surprise, Diane's daughter, a very young Laura Dern, plays her on-screen daughter.
The big draw of the movie is the wild driving, complete with hairpin turns, fender-crunching collisions, racing in front of a train, driving blindly through a cornfield, and crazy car jumps that clearly inspired the Dukes of Hazzard.
Generally entertaining but nothing special. Worth a look for a Burt Reynolds fan.
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