Michael_Elliott
Gator (1976) ** (out of 4) Gator McKlusky (Burt Reynolds) is asked by the Federal government to help them track down and get evidence on Bama McCall (Jerry Reed), a bad man doing bad things and not paying taxes so it's the one way to bust him. The only thing is that Gator and Bama used to be good friends.This sequel to WHITE LIGHTNING was the directing debut for Reynolds and for the most part it's a mildly entertaining movie, although there's no question that it falls well short of the entertainment value of the first. There's basically one major problem with this sequel and that's the fact that it's pretty much like every other "chase" picture that came before it. It's almost as if the writer had a checklist he went down to make sure everything you'd expect from a picture like this was here.This film does offer up some nice performances, which certainly help the extended running time. Reynolds is pretty much playing that lovable "good ol' boy" and he was certainly a pro at that. He manages to make the Gator character a fun one and one that you could root for. Lauren Hutton is good as the love interest and Jack Weston really stands out in his role as the agent. Jerry Reed also deserves a lot of credit for his turn as the bad guy as he actually made for a good and menacing villain. And yeah, he sings the pretty good title song as well.The problem with GATOR is that it's pretty much a "been there, done that" type of movie as everything we're seeing is something we've seen countless times before and there's just nothing fresh here. Reynolds direction is good but there's nothing overly great about any of it. I'd also argue that there's not as much comedy that works here. With that said, there are some good stunt work and especially towards the end with a certain jump onto the beach.
shipes_j
one of the most endearing qualities about this movie is the fact that it brings the seventies back to your memories...it was filmed in 1976 and it shows it often....the scene where jerry (reed) enters the "southside shuffle "topless" bar...nails the period completely... as well as other fashions, lingo, and of course burt himself...who "owned" the seventies....due to this movie and his other good ole boy films of the south....coupled with the overwhelming popularity of smokey and the bandit (yet to come a year later)...established burt as a seemingly permanent fixture in cinema back then...I always thought burt would stay on top I guess...he seemed invincible as the #1 box office attraction...he is definitely an icon of the seventies time capsule...his swagger and his sense of humor put a brand on me as I remember many times in my life (silently) asking myself...what would burt do in a situation like this?....as pure acting goes...the film had one of the best supporting actors around and due to his lack of experience I guess you would just have to sum up jerry reed as being a "natural".....he played the villain so well you wanted him to stop...and go back to the good ole boy that you knew he could be (later as cletus snow in smokey and the bandit)gator is/was one of my all time favorite films...from a time period that I thought would never end...I miss it and this film will help you reunite with it if you are nostalgic at all...
Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW)
Gator, the sequel to White Lightning was a lot more intense that the first. Both dealt with Gator battling corrupt officials, but this one deals with him battling his best friend. Though prison life didn't seem to faze him too much, but a sense of moral was put into this movie as well as his sense of charm. Anyone can find a person more annoying than Gator himself. At least it shows that temptation isn't Gator's cup of tea, or whiskey that is! At the end, the question for Gator is, "what's next?" Lauren Hutton was great at having her shirt charmed off, and Alice Ghostley of Bewitched fame did well. I really enjoyed it. 4 out of 5 stars.
jbels
Movie starts off good enough with an exciting speedboat chase, but I would have preferred two hours of that as opposed to the forced, embarrassing comedy attempted in this film. Running around with cats draped over their necks, the cast attempts to cram jokes down your throat. This was Reynolds charming era, but his charm skipped this one.
AD
