Rent Gator (1976)

Uneven Comedy/Thriller - Very 70s - Gator review by GI

Burt Reynolds directorial debut and a sequel to White Lightening (1973). This is a poorly scripted film that suffers from an uneven structure and timing probably due to Reynolds inexperience and it can't seem to make up its mind whether it's a comedy or thriller. it managing to be both and neither at the same time. Reynolds made a bit of a career out of wisecracking, hillbilly style comedies with his infectious laugh and boyish good looks with characters that are on the edges of criminality but ultimately harmless and in narratives filled with zany, madcap chase sequences. Here he plays moonshiner Gator McKlusky, fresh out of jail, who is blackmailed by a cop trying to nail the crime kingpins the County who also happens to be Gator's boyhood friend. Reynolds has the boyish charm here and there's an early boat chase where he gets to flummox the inept cops setting the film as a comedy of the likes of Smokey And The Bandit (1977) but quickly drifting into crime thriller territory. There are long and dull exposition scenes, a lacklustre romance with Lauren Hutton as a TV journalist, and a rather unexciting final showdown. The film tries to be somewhat controversial with a baddie who has sex with under age girls who he likes to give drugs to but ultimately it's a very 70s style film that struggles when viewed today and lacks the sharp comedy of Reynolds other output.