Cannonball Run II (1984)

The original characters from The Cannonball Run (1981) race across the country once more in various cars and trucks.

Director:

Hal Needham

Writers:

Brock Yates (characters creator), Hal Needham

Stars:

Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Reynolds	...	J.J. McClure
Dom DeLuise	...	Victor Prinzim / Captain Chaos / Don Canneloni
Dean Martin	...	Jamie Blake
Sammy Davis Jr.	...	Morris Fenderbaum
Jamie Farr	...	The Sheik
Marilu Henner	...	Betty
Telly Savalas	...	Hymie Kaplan
Shirley MacLaine	...	Veronica
Susan Anton	...	Jill, Lamborghini Babe
Catherine Bach	...	Marcie, Lamborghini Babe
Foster Brooks	...	Fisherman #1
Sid Caesar	...	Fisherman #2
Jackie Chan	...	Jackie Chan, Mitsubishi Engineer
Tim Conway	...	CHP Officer #1
Tony Danza	...	Terry

Storyline

The Sheik who competed at the last Cannonball Run, is berated by his father for not winning it. So he tells him to go and win. Problem is that there is no Cannonball Run. So his father tells him to make one of his own. He puts up a million dollars as the prize. So former Cannonballers J.J. and his buddy Vince join, as does Blake and Fenderbaum and some other characters. But Blake and Fenderbaum owe a mobster some money, and the mobster owes some other guy more. He then decides to grab the Sheik and hold him for ransom so he can pay the guy back.

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Plot Keywords:

chase | automobile racing | automobile | sequel | carsploitation | 

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Taglines:

The popcorn is in the lobby. The nuts are on the screen.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Hong Kong USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cannonball Run II

Filming Locations:

Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,323,948, 1 July 1984

Gross USA:

$28,078,073

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$28,078,073

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arcafin B.V., Golden Harvest Company, Towa Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Mitsubishi, driven by Jackie Chan and Richard Kiel, drove into a lake, and re-created the Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), that changed into a submarine. While underwater, the theme from Jaws (1975) was played, that referenced Richard Kiel's character "Jaws", from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979).

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Goofs

At the roadside fruit stand, Arnold's racing outfit has a few watermelon stains on it even before Jackie breaks the melon, but his outfit is perfectly clean when he drags Jackie away at the end of the scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
King: For one thousand centuries, the Falafel Family has ruled the deserts with one thing: speed! We had the fastest camels and the fastest horses. And now, due to... you know what
[mimics oil bubbling up]
King: , we have the fastest planes, the fastest boats, and the fastest cars. Except for one: yours! Last year, I sent you to America for one simple task. So simple. To emblazen the Falafel name as fastest in the world by winning the Cannonball Run. And you... failed!

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Crazy Credits

Outtakes during the credits.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Charles Nelson Reilly/Garry Shandling/Audrie J. Neenan (1983)

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Soundtracks

Cannonball
Written by Ray Stevens (as R. Stevens)
Performed by Ray Stevens

User Reviews

Even after two glasses of strong wine, it is a very, very basic comedy that will please the minority of viewers at best

Having shamed his family by failing to run the original Cannonball Run, The Sheik is sent back to America by his father to restage the race with $1,000,000 of the King's money. Spreading the word brings out most of the previous competitors as well as some new racers as well as some new trouble –Don Canneloni's son (Don Don) is failing in his new business venture and the Don has sent some men to sort out his debtors, namely one Morris Fenderbaum. When the Don's men catch up with Fenderbaun they learn of the Cannonball Run and decide that they will make some money by kidnapping the Sheik during the race.

A quiet night in with a few glasses of wine meant that somehow Cannonball 2 became a viable proposition but sadly, regardless of the influence of libation, this was a pretty poor film that didn't have much in the way of entertainment value. If you are the sort of person that thinks Smokey & The Bandit 3 is the height of cinematic art then you'll probably love CR2 but for the majority of us, this is just a collection of noisy scenes, hung together with the most basic of plots and a load of stars having fun; or at least I hope they were having fun because I certainly didn't. The basic plot is used to produce a few fights, some fast cars, a little bit of cleavage and a whole load of not much else.

The comedy is of the most basic sort and the cast do seem to be having fun with all their mates but this does not make their performances any good. Reynolds just sleeps through it in the way he always does, while anyone hoping that Dom DeLuise will be good for laughs deserve everything they get in life. Martin and Davis Jr seem happy for the paycheck but really you get the feeling that they are crying inside. Likewise Savalas and MacLaine are much better than this, while Rocco, Silva etc all deserve a damn good kicking for this mockery of their most famous roles. Elam, Danza, Farr, Chan and Kiel all fill the screen but at least Montalban and McClure are good value (although that may be less to do with their ability and more to do with Star Trek 2 and the Simpsons spoof respectively).

Overall a very, very basic comedy that does very little worth seeking out. The stars all appear to be enjoying themselves and it is really just as well that somebody is because the majority of viewers won't be. In its defence though, if you're watching this film then what did you expect – although that doesn't really excuse any of this nonsense.