Burt Reynolds. Beer Cans. Burping. A lowbrow trifecta.

June 18, 2011 1:47 PM

Burt Reynolds. Beer Cans. Burping. What film was this and where can I find a video clip of this scene on the internet?

This question has its roots in a childhood memory. I am somewhere between six and eight years old. This would place the memory and the film at some point in the late nineteen seventies. Imagine me, the blogger, as a chunky kid with a bowl haircut and coke-bottle specs.

My friend Darryl is having a birthday party. The centerpiece of the celebration is a visit to the movies, where they are playing one of those trucker/outlaw/cop/mustache/bitchin' camaro flicks that were popular in that day and age. In keeping with this blue-collar aesthetic, the director decided to introduce Burt Reynolds' character with the following shot:

The scene opens with a static wall of all-American beer cans. There is a moment of silence and then a loud URRRRRRRRRPPPP! The beer cans fall away revealing Mr. Reynolds who sports a serious hangover and the most seventies of 'staches.

This made a serious impression on me at the time because . . . damn, it just doesn't get much manlier than that. Hell, I can feel the testosterone surging as I type this. Many's the time I, as a grown man, would be enduring something impossibly pretentious and arty and I would flash back to that scene and think "Yeah, what this film needs is some more Burt."

Unfortunately, I have forgotten the name of this movie. I have also searched all over the internet for a clip of that particular scene, to no avail.

So . . . what was the name of the film and where can I find that clip?

I submit that this question is unique in the history of Ask MetaFilter. There may have been questions about Burt Reynolds. There may have been questions about beer cans. There may have been questions about burping. But I guarantee you that no question has featured all three. A lowbrow trifecta, if you will.

Many thanks in advance.

posted by jason's_planet to media & arts (6 answers total)

Here it is.

Is it from Smokey and the Bandit?
posted by nightwood at 1:51 PM on June 18, 2011

I posed the question to Mr. Labwench and his guess was the movie "Hooper" (it fits your time frame perfectly).

He further pointed out that the "Smokey and the Bandt" storyline was about Coors brand beer and that they would not likely have allowed the opening scene to include a multitude of Budwesier beer cans.
posted by labwench at 2:23 PM on June 18, 2011

I'll vote for "Smokey And The Bandit 2."
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:35 PM on June 18, 2011

Okayyyy...I'm looking at Smokey and the Bandit right now on Netflix...Burt Reynolds is introduced on a hammock, no beer. On to Smokey II.

BINGO! It's in Smokey and the Bandit, Part II, about 8 minutes in.

Yay Netflix!
posted by cooker girl at 3:24 PM on June 18, 2011

Oh, also, only the first Smokey and the Bandit dealt with Coors. Part 2's plot was taking some unknown cargo to the Republican National Convention (spoiler, sort of: it wasn't beer), and Part 3 involved a fish.

Yes, I know too much about those films.
posted by cooker girl at 3:45 PM on June 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Beautiful! I got the first half of my answer within five minutes and the second half within two hours, all on a slow summer day!

Thanks, everyone!
posted by jason's_planet at 3:05 PM on June 19, 2011