Hooper (1978)

Admirable film.

A Masterpiece!

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Oddly enough, I didn't get around to watching "Hooper" before now. Well, there is a reason for that; as I haven't actively been seeking out Burt Reynolds movies to watch.It should be said that they had a good cast in the movie, which included Burt Reynolds, Sally Fields, Jan Michael Vincent and more on the cast list. The actors and actresses did put on good acting performances throughout the movie.But the story was very mediocre and generic at best, and you never really got drawn into the storyline.It seemed like a rather half-hearted attempt at putting out another movie with Reynolds and Fields on the billing.

Released in 1978, "Hooper" stars Burt Reynolds as the eponymous stuntman for the fictitious film "The Spy Who Loved Danger." Hooper's the best in the business, but he's no longer young and his body can't take much more; his fiancé wants him out of the business (Sally Field) while her ex-stuntman dad faces medical challenges (Brian Keith). A young stuntman makes his debut (Jan-Michael Vincent) and he and Hooper team up for the ultimate stunt that could cost them their lives."Hooper" is a dramedy with the same tone as Reynolds' other dramedy/action flicks of the 70s. If you liked "The Longest Yard" (1974), "Gator" (1976) and "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977), you'll like this one. I found the movie-within-a-movie element particularly interesting as it satirizes the filmmaking grind. Adam West has a couple of cameos as the star of the fake spy movie and Robert Klein plays the dictatorial director. Klein's debut in the opening scene is great, revealing the absolute power of the auteur on the movie set.I liked the way the subplot about the young stuntman anxious to prove he has the nerve & skill to be top dog doesn't go in the predictable direction.There's a fun brawl featuring, of all people, Terry Bradshaw, who looks great with a full head of hair. Unfortunately, other than Field the movie doesn't really deliver the goods, as far as women go. Still, if you have a knack for these kinds of films "Hooper" is a must and works well as fun-natured 70's entertainment. This was the inspiration for Lee Majors' hit TV series The Fall Guy that ran from 1981-86.The film runs 99 minutes and was shot in Culver City, Burbank, Santa Susana and Malibu, California, and Alabama.GRADE: B

Hooper is Not Funny, Not Fasted paced, Not romantic and Non informative. There is no real drama. You would think that a movie about the world's greatest stuntman would have some drama, there was an attempt but it didn't seem real. No Character study, no lessons learned, it did not even look like the actors were having any real fun, they were just trying to act like they were having fun. There is no reason to watch unless you like to look at Burt and want get an occasional glimpse of Sally. Prancer the horse was beautiful and did what he was supposed to do. In fact Prancer was the best actor in this movie. Smoky and the Bandit was such a fun movie that I was ready to like Hooper. This movie turned out to be a real disappointment and waste of time

This movie could have been better if there wasn't so much goofing off. I don't mean that goofing off is bad, but one gets the feeling watching this film that 'Hooper' isn't really a character study, i.e. that Reynolds isn't really playing a character, but that he's simply being himself and having fun on the set while the cameras happen to be rolling. This distracts from the intensity of the film's core, about a aging guy who is doing one of the most dangerous jobs in the world - a Hollywood stuntman - trying to compete with a hotshot newcomer played by Jan Michael Vincent, who is very cool in this movie. Vincent is realistic and mellow and the connection between his character 'Ski' and Burt's 'Hooper' is far better than the cornball routines between Reynolds and his pal played by James Best (from 'Dukes of Hazard' fame). Best is just another Dom Deluise, or Jim Nabors, or whichever goofy Burt sidekick you can recall. And it's kind of sad because Best is an acting teacher guru and could have done a lot better. When Reynolds and Best do Roy Rogers and Jimmy Stewart impressions I felt like shooting my television set. There is, of course, a bar fight (not many seventies Reynold's films lacked one) and the dialog before and after the fight is as corny and lame as you can get. The jokes between Brain Keith and Reynolds (who plays the older stuntman who Reynolds replaced as the kingpin as now Vincent threatens Reynolds) are lame but not as bad as Reynolds and Best's joking around. I don't know, I just would have liked less "Hey we're having so much fun on the set" and more of an intense character study, which does, in between the jests, shine through on occasion. Robert Klein plays a lofty Hollywood director, and isn't too bad as an actor in this, but he's made into a villain (along with a kiss-up production assistant) and that's kind of lame because in real life, it's not so black and white. I don't like it when a character is made to be instantly unlikeable because he goes against the wishes of the main character, it's just so made-for-TV or something.