Name: Film Review: Hooper (1978)
Item: Hooper
Rating: 60
Author: @drax

(source:tmdb.org)

Stunt people are among the most important ingredients for any action-oriented film, but they are also among the least appreciated, at least where the public is concerned. This could be explained by the fact that the average member of the audience doesn’t want to be reminded of the illusory nature of what is displayed on the screen and prefers believing that his or her favourite star actually does death-defying stunts. Consequently, films dedicated to stunt people are rare. Arguably the most successful of them is Hooper, a 1978 action comedy directed by Hal Needham.

The protagonist, played by Burt Reynolds, is Sonny Hooper, Hollywood’s top stuntman, highly respected by his colleagues and sought after by major studios. He is currently hired as stunt coordinator on the set of the spectacular action film The Spy Who Laughed at Danger, where he often clashes with its pompous director Roger Deal (played by Robert Klein). However, he is more concerned with the arrival of young stuntman Delmore “Ski” Shidski (played by Jan-Michael Vincent), whose eagerness to perform ever more spectacular stunts opens the prospect of Hooper being dethroned from his position in Hollywood. Their rivalry is further affected by Hooper’s realisation that the injuries he has accumulated over the years, combined with painkillers, alcohol and a lifestyle that involves hard partying and the occasional bar brawl, will very soon force him to retire – something his girlfriend Gwen (played by Sally Field) wants. Before that happens, he has to work with Ski on one last spectacular stunt that involves a rocket-powered car jumping over a bridge.

Hooper was made shortly after Smokey and the Bandit, a surprisingly successful action comedy that confirmed Reynolds as one of the greatest stars of 1970s Hollywood. Reynolds, who also produced the film, tried to repeat the same formula by hiring his friend and former stuntman Hal Needham as director, as well as his girlfriend Sally Field in the role of the protagonist’s love interest. The formula also involved a lot of improvisation and ad-libbing on set, with the cast and crew obviously having some fun. The plot, on the other hand, is much looser than that of Smokey and, at least until the last thirty minutes or so, consists of vignettes that show the life of Hollywood stuntmen through spectacular stunts, satirical observations of Hollywood practices and a lot of comedy. In the latter stages of the film, Hooper becomes darker, with Reynolds – although at the time in his physical prime and at the zenith of his stardom – contemplating mortality through his own character and that of his elderly mentor, a retired stuntman and Gwen’s father, played by Brian Keith. This works to a point, because the audience might truly be concerned whether Hooper and Ski will pull off their impossible stunt at the end.

The finale is somewhat compromised by too much pyrotechnics and chaos, and it could be interpreted as a satirical jab against overambitious New Hollywood film makers willing to sacrifice entertainment for the sake of their artistic snobbery. Robert Klein, who plays one such character – inspired by Peter Bogdanovich – is very effective in such a role. Hooper had modest commercial success at the premiere and can still be entertaining to today’s audience, accustomed to CGI and unaware that brave men and women sometimes risk their lives to bring something extraordinary to the screen.

RATING: 6/10 (++)