As several racers gather for the Cannonball Run cross country race in Washington D. C., the race is threatened after Chief of Police Spiro T. Edsel (Peter Boyle) arrests all the drivers to prevent the race from taking place. With options limited and time running out, the sponsors gather whatever people are willing and available to fill the drivers' seats.
While Cannonball Run II was a noticeable step down in terms of success from its predecessor thanks to strong presence in foreign markets and pre-sales from the movie producers Albert S. Ruddy and Raymond Shaw had every intention of producing a third entry in the franchise. The film began development in the mid-80s with production beginning in the Fall of 1988 under the title Cannonball Fever with the film given distribution in the United States by Orion Pictures. Orion attempted to persuade Burt Reynolds to reprise his role as J. J. McClure by offering him a sizable sum of money, but as Reynolds had been trying to shake his "good ole boy" persona following Cannonball Run II Reynolds turned down the offer and the movie was retitled Speed Zone for the U. S. market while retaining its Cannonball connection for the international markets as the films were still popular abroad. The movie opened in tenth place at the box office making a paltry $3 million over its entire domestic run and was the last film to be produced in the series, though there've been ongoing discussions about a Cannonball Run remake since. Much like Cannonball Run II this is a cynical exercise that while not wasting Burt Reynolds instead decides to waste the talented cast and crew of SCTV.
On paper you'd think with this many funny people gathered such as Peter Boyle, Donna Dixon, John Candy, and Eugene Levy with SCTV writer Michael Short you'd be forgiven for thinking maybe they'll give some life to this material that Hal Needham and company were not. Unfortunately, not the case. Despite John Candy and Eugene Levy having teamed up to give us laughs in Armed and Dangerous or even Candy by himself proving funny, Candy and Levy find themselves saddled with a leaden premise that's just as paper thin as the other Cannonball films. Maybe there was some kind of directive from the producers that kept these actors and writers from getting traction with the material, but once again the primary focus is on objects crashing into other objects and little effort given to establishing character or investment. I know for a fact this kind of setup can be funny. The Great Race, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Midnight Madness, and even Rat Race have mined this kind of premise successfully, but those movies actually understood the value of establishing character and situation and catching the audience off guard rather than running through a limp gauntlet.
I said it about Cannonball Run II and I'll say it about Speed Zone: It's awful and don't watch it.
While Cannonball Run II was a noticeable step down in terms of success from its predecessor thanks to strong presence in foreign markets and pre-sales from the movie producers Albert S. Ruddy and Raymond Shaw had every intention of producing a third entry in the franchise. The film began development in the mid-80s with production beginning in the Fall of 1988 under the title Cannonball Fever with the film given distribution in the United States by Orion Pictures. Orion attempted to persuade Burt Reynolds to reprise his role as J. J. McClure by offering him a sizable sum of money, but as Reynolds had been trying to shake his "good ole boy" persona following Cannonball Run II Reynolds turned down the offer and the movie was retitled Speed Zone for the U. S. market while retaining its Cannonball connection for the international markets as the films were still popular abroad. The movie opened in tenth place at the box office making a paltry $3 million over its entire domestic run and was the last film to be produced in the series, though there've been ongoing discussions about a Cannonball Run remake since. Much like Cannonball Run II this is a cynical exercise that while not wasting Burt Reynolds instead decides to waste the talented cast and crew of SCTV.
On paper you'd think with this many funny people gathered such as Peter Boyle, Donna Dixon, John Candy, and Eugene Levy with SCTV writer Michael Short you'd be forgiven for thinking maybe they'll give some life to this material that Hal Needham and company were not. Unfortunately, not the case. Despite John Candy and Eugene Levy having teamed up to give us laughs in Armed and Dangerous or even Candy by himself proving funny, Candy and Levy find themselves saddled with a leaden premise that's just as paper thin as the other Cannonball films. Maybe there was some kind of directive from the producers that kept these actors and writers from getting traction with the material, but once again the primary focus is on objects crashing into other objects and little effort given to establishing character or investment. I know for a fact this kind of setup can be funny. The Great Race, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Midnight Madness, and even Rat Race have mined this kind of premise successfully, but those movies actually understood the value of establishing character and situation and catching the audience off guard rather than running through a limp gauntlet.
I said it about Cannonball Run II and I'll say it about Speed Zone: It's awful and don't watch it.