Gator has many flaws, but I can't help but have a sentient attachment to it. Despite its inconsistencies with plausibility, continuity and choice of dialogue, the sum of it's total qualities and appeal outweigh the flaws. It's a good Sunday afternoon film to watch with a friend or your honey to just relax and sink into.
Reprising the role from the Original "White Lightning (1973) Ex-con/Whiskey Moonshiner, Gator McCluskey (Burt Reynolds) is enjoying a down home respite with his crusty old dad and young daughter after being released from a 2 year prison term. Unbeknownst to him he is set upon by the State feds on boats. Thus ensues a hilarious and exciting boat chase scene with Gator reducing the inept cops to bumbling fools. What is this all about? He's being coerced by a New York District Attorney (Jack Weston), at the behest of the Georgia state governor (Mike Douglas) to expose an old friend , Bama McCall (Jerry Reed) who is a notorious Crime boss running the local County of Dunston, Georgia in to perpetual fear and disaster. Gator's job, in order to avoid getting his pappy in prison and his daughter shuffled in Foster homes, is to agree on being an informant to expose McCall's criminality.
Gator is a raw mixture of snappy one-liners, taught action, erotic innuendo and some abrupt violence. All of it is done pretty well due to the good performances of Reynolds, Weston, Reed, Ghostley and some of the supporting characters. Although Gator succeeds as a Drama/Comedy, a couple of violent scenes are tragic and nasty enough to make Quentin Tarantino wince. The Crime honcho, Bama McCall (Jerry Reed) is one sinister and dirty villain. Reed plays the role as if he was born to do it. With the deep subterranean drawl in his voice to the cackling evil laugh, he exudes a wickedness that makes you love to hate him. Jack Weston also deserves credit for playing the fumbling and tortured Irving Greenfield who gets beaten, ridiculed and humiliated regularly throughout the film. Aggie Maybank, (Lauren Hutton) plays Gator's love interest and desperately made partner in unraveling the goods on McCall. Hutton is not my favorite leading lady, but here her performance is passable. It's Burt Reynolds who's the main attraction here. His cool charisma, periodic humility, snide humor and tough guy wares makes this film worth watching. As a hardened ex-con, his Moral compass is put to the Litmus test in which he is able to see injustice and crime for what it really is. Also look for nice filming of the southern locales along with a great soundtrack.
Reprising the role from the Original "White Lightning (1973) Ex-con/Whiskey Moonshiner, Gator McCluskey (Burt Reynolds) is enjoying a down home respite with his crusty old dad and young daughter after being released from a 2 year prison term. Unbeknownst to him he is set upon by the State feds on boats. Thus ensues a hilarious and exciting boat chase scene with Gator reducing the inept cops to bumbling fools. What is this all about? He's being coerced by a New York District Attorney (Jack Weston), at the behest of the Georgia state governor (Mike Douglas) to expose an old friend , Bama McCall (Jerry Reed) who is a notorious Crime boss running the local County of Dunston, Georgia in to perpetual fear and disaster. Gator's job, in order to avoid getting his pappy in prison and his daughter shuffled in Foster homes, is to agree on being an informant to expose McCall's criminality.
Gator is a raw mixture of snappy one-liners, taught action, erotic innuendo and some abrupt violence. All of it is done pretty well due to the good performances of Reynolds, Weston, Reed, Ghostley and some of the supporting characters. Although Gator succeeds as a Drama/Comedy, a couple of violent scenes are tragic and nasty enough to make Quentin Tarantino wince. The Crime honcho, Bama McCall (Jerry Reed) is one sinister and dirty villain. Reed plays the role as if he was born to do it. With the deep subterranean drawl in his voice to the cackling evil laugh, he exudes a wickedness that makes you love to hate him. Jack Weston also deserves credit for playing the fumbling and tortured Irving Greenfield who gets beaten, ridiculed and humiliated regularly throughout the film. Aggie Maybank, (Lauren Hutton) plays Gator's love interest and desperately made partner in unraveling the goods on McCall. Hutton is not my favorite leading lady, but here her performance is passable. It's Burt Reynolds who's the main attraction here. His cool charisma, periodic humility, snide humor and tough guy wares makes this film worth watching. As a hardened ex-con, his Moral compass is put to the Litmus test in which he is able to see injustice and crime for what it really is. Also look for nice filming of the southern locales along with a great soundtrack.