Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
A cross-country road race is based on an actual event, the Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, organized by Brock Yates to protest the 55 mph speed limit then in effect in the U.S. The Cannonball was named for Erwin G. "Cannonball" Baker, who in the roaring 20's rode his motorcycle across the country. Many of the characters are based on ruses developed by real Cannonball racers over the several years that the event was run.
The Cannonball Run is a gleefully chaotic ensemble comedy built more on star power and gags than narrative coherence. The plot is thin and episodic — essentially a series of loosely connected comedic set pieces strung along a cross-country race framework, with little dramatic tension or character development. The acting is a mixed bag: Burt Reynolds coasts on charm, and the bloated celebrity cast (Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Roger Moore, Dom DeLuise) delivers mostly broad mugging, though the camaraderie is genuine and entertaining. Cinematography is functional at best — workmanlike action coverage with no particular visual ambition. Novelty scores modestly for its time: the ensemble road-race format, bloopers-during-credits style, and irreverent celebrity roast atmosphere gave it a distinctive flavor that spawned imitators, even if it wasn't reinventing cinema. The ending is anticlimactic and perfunctory, resolving the race with little payoff. Its appeal rests almost entirely on the infectious fun of watching a galaxy of stars clowning around.