In the late 70s, actor Burt Reynolds was on a real roll. The massive success of Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and the solid returns for football comedy Semi-Tough (1977) made the star one of the most powerful performers in Hollywood. Clearly he used his clout to take a left turn the following year with the dark comedy, The End. Reynolds directed the film, and the story clearly offered the actor a chance to poke fun at his own image.
Interestingly enough, it has become a lesser known title in the performer’s resume, even though the box office take was actually greater than that for Semi-Tough. Olive Films have released a new Blu-ray with a surprisingly strong image that should please fans of the film who want to own it in high-definition. While there are some grainy shots here and there (normal for a movie of its age), the majority of the film looks incredibly sharp for its age.
Reynolds stars as real estate agent Wendell Sonny Lawson. He’s not the nicest guy in the world, and carries a sexist attitude and a taste for politically incorrect jokes. When he’s told by his doctor that he has a terminal illness (an unspecified toxic blood disease), he completely breaks down. Given less than a year to live and terrified of the pain that will come in his final days, he decides to take the initiative and kill himself. Only he can’t seem to finish the job, leading to further complications and comedic situations.
It’s an interesting concept, but only offers sporadic laughs early on. Much of the humor revolves around the lead crying at his bleak situation and the material is all played very broadly. Obviously, the star is trying to poke fun at his typically macho mannerisms with this unusual role. Still, the simple act of witnessing a man crying as he leaves the doctor’s office with a fatal prognosis is the whole joke and it won’t exactly come across as knee-slapping stuff to today’s audiences.
The movie also meanders as the character preps for his suicide and visits family members. Some of the blunt comments about death coming from both Lawson and his acquaintances (an amazing cast of Sally Field, Joanne Woodward, David Steinberg, Norman Fell, Kristy McNichol, Myrna Loy, Pat O’Brien and Robbie Benson) are very funny, although a few others make some politically incorrect comments. The pacing seems a bit slow through the first half of the film as well, with extended conversations and very little action.
Thankfully, the comedy improves considerably once Lawson decides to carry out his morbid fantasy. Unsuccessful in his first suicide attempt, he is thrown into an asylum. This only motivates him to finish the deed, although he no longer has the resources to do so. So Lawson befriends schizophrenic Marlon Borunki (Dom DeLuise) and convinces the unstable man to do him in. Borunki attempts to hang Lawson and push him off of a balcony (among other techniques), resulting in a lot of verbal and physical gags. Interestingly enough, the two play very well off of each other and the final forty minutes of the film are grimly enjoyable.
What’s also interesting about the movie is it’s refusal to let its characters off the hook. There’s no misdiagnosis here – Lawson is doomed to die a painful death one way or another and there’s no getting out of it. It’s genuinely remarkable to watch the character grapple with his own mortality. When events are set in motion, the suicide set-pieces effectively offer some big laughs and in some respects highlight the absurdity of both the situation and Lawson’s whole life.
The End is an interesting curiosity in the career of star Burt Reynolds (who would later go on to slapstick fare in the early 80s with the Smokey and the Bandit sequels, The Cannonball Run movies and Stroker Ace). One wouldn’t have expected an existential comedy from the actor and it must have been fascinating to see him try something different, even if results are uneven. You’ll have to wait to get to the good stuff, but Reynolds fans will get to see a decidedly different side of the actor.