Smokey and the Bandit II the Bandit to sober up, since Big Enos has raised the stakes to $400,000. Frog abandons her second attempt at marrying Buford T. Justice's son Junior. She is initially persuaded more by the money than her love for Bandit. She buys him a 1980 Pontiac Trans Am named "Son of Trigger," powered by the Pontiac 301 Turbo, by trading in Junior's car. A race ensues as the trio once again tries to outrun and outwit Justice and Junior. They make it to Miami with little trouble, even fooling a Florida Highway Patrol speedtrap along the way. Their cargo is in
Burt Reynolds to be Hamlet. I would just like to be the best Burt Reynolds around. James L. Brooks offered Reynolds the role of astronaut Garrett Breedlove in "Terms of Endearment" (1983) but he turned it down to do "Stroker Ace" (1983), another car chase comedy directed by Needham. The "Endearment" role went to Jack Nicholson, who went on to win an Academy Award. Reynolds said he made this decision because "I felt I owed Hal more than I owed Jim" but "Stroker Ace" flopped. Reynolds felt this was a turning point in his career from which he never recovered. "That's where