In 1982 Burt Reynolds was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, star in the world - and what's more he'd maintained that position for about four years. He had been a name since the early 60s, doing lots of TV and support roles, and moved up to a medium tier star with Deliverance and a series of good ole boy action films such as Gator. What made him huge was Smokey and the Bandit. This was a box office sensation and led to a golden run for Reynolds - the well received Semi Tough, a decently received directorial debut The End, a popular comedy Hooper, a venture into rom com Starting Cover. No one seemed to much like Rough Cut but Smokey and the Bandit II and Cannonball Run were huge and Paternity did okay. Sharky's Machine, his second work as director, was reasonably received and both Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Best Friends were popular.
Within six years he was finished as a star.
What happened?
Did he just become unfashionable? Did he pick badly? Did America change? Did people get sick of him?
Stars often fall from grace... but the jolt of Reynolds' fall was surprise, especially considering he'd been around for so long. Also, several of his contemporaries managed to keep up their profiles - such as Clint Eastwood and Sylvester Stallone.
Let's look at the films he chose:
* Stroker Ace (1983) - he himself calls this a turning point. He famously turned down the role which won Jack Nicholson an Oscar in Terms of Endearment to do this, showing the danger of breaking the Hollywood commandment "nobody knows anything but always try to pick the classiest project". I can understand why Reynolds did what he did... Hal Needham had directed several of Reynolds' biggest hits to date, it was so obviously commercial (cars, gags, boobs, fun) - this was the first one to flop. Which just goes to show, you can never pick what's going to work - sometimes the public can sniff out a stinker.
* The Man Who Loved Women (1983) - a risky-ish bet from Reynolds who was keen to segue into romantic, grown up films... but it was a remake of a Truffaut movie and had Blake Edwards attached. The public didn't like it. What went wrong? Americans don't mind films about compulsive womanisers eg Shampoo. It just didn't work for them. This is the sort of movie which you can't blame Reynolds for making... it's a shame it didn't pan out for him.
* Cannonball Run II (1984) - this one I do think Reynolds may have been a bit hasty about making. I can understand he wanted a hit, it would have seemed commercial... but backing Needham after Stroker Ace should possibly have made him re think. Around this point he should've been trying to make really good commercial films and honestly there was no way Cannonball Run II was going to be it. It was lazy... there was no reason to make it... It lacked heart.
* City Heat (1984) - teaming Reynolds and Clint Eastwood was a fantastic idea and Blake Edwards should've been an ideal movie. It isn't. You want this to be fun - the opening sequence with the two of them is fine, the basic idea is strong - but it doesn't work. Buddy comedies aren't as easy as they look. Eastwood was wary of Edwards who quit, Reynolds was injured during filming which led to rumours he had AIDS. The film was profitable though, showing Reynolds was still a box office draw.
*Stick (1985) - Reynolds returns to directing and the film is a mess. He should've been able to do Elmore Leonard - he later claimed Universal bullied him into changing too much of the film, in which case he should've stopped directing. I think by this stage Reynolds' confidence was badly shaken and he needed a stronger director for the film. It's a great pity that John Boorman couldn't have done it. (Indeed for me the great missed role for Reynolds during this period is playing the star part in The Emerald Forest - as fine as Powers Boothe was, it would've suited Reynolds like a glove, and given the movie more commercial power.)
* Heat (1986) - this is when things really started going wonky. You can see the appeal of William Goldman's novel for filmmakers - it has a great central character, a tough guy with a gambling problem, and is full of colourful characters. Goldman's script is okay. But not easily adaptable - because it's more character piece than action piece. So you really need a director who gets it. Robert Altman would actually have been fantastic, but he wanted changes and quit the project, The result was a mess with Dick Richards and Jerry Jameson coming in. The Jason Statham remake showed the problems with the material - it's not quite action, not quite character. Reynolds did suit the role but the film is a mess.
* Malone (1987) - another mess of a movie, when Reynolds needed to be making major films with major talents. Harley Cokeliss was the director here, in a modern day Western.
* Rent-a-Cop (1988) - Reynolds is a cop again only this time with Liza Minnelli - a teaming that didn't excite people in the 70s and didn't in the late 80s. It had another second tier director, Jerry London. I think it was this string of four post-City Heat action films which killed Reynolds' career more than anything.
* Switching Channels (1989) - Reynolds' turn as Cary Grant in this remake of His Girl Friday was acclaimed as a comeback (Reynolds tried to do a Cary Grant a few times). He got some good reviews but the film was a fop. Michael Caine (who was originally meant to play the lead) once said a star needed a hit every five pictures or he was out - by now Reynolds was out.
* Physical Evidence (1989) - a weird one in Michael Crichton's filmography as it has nothing to do with science really, and in fact was originally a sequel to Jagged Edge. It would've been fun to see Robert Loggie be defended by Glenn Close but instead we've got Burt and Terese Russell. There were a lot of these thrillers in the 80s and 90s - the best of them had sexiness, style and some decent plot twists, which this doesn't have. It's a really, really average movie.
* Breaking In (1989) - an unexpected surprise: Reynolds finally works with some top talents, John Sayles and Bill Forsyth, and turns in one of his best performances. It was too little too late though - the film was barely seen. If he'd done this in the mid 80s I think people would've really gotten behind it. But by now Reynolds' reputation was at a super low ebb.
Reynolds then did the smart thing and went back to TV - he had a medium success with BL Stryker and a pretty big one with Evening Shade, which ran for 98 episodes and was only really axed because costs got so high. It was a shame, as I think he could've really found home there.
He made semi comebacks in Striptease and Boogie Nights but could never seem to consolidate. It's a shame. I wish he'd have one last big fat hit before going off because the last two decades must've been tough and I still have a lot of affection for him.
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