W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975)

Director: John G. Avildsen

Starring: Burt Reynolds, Cony Van Dyke, Jerry Reed, Ned Beatty, James Hampton, Don Williams, Rick Hurst, Mel Tillis, Furry Lewis, Art Carney

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Back in 1957, sweet-talking W.W. lived in a '55 Olds, loved bubble gum, Errol Flynn, country music, fried chicken, robbing filling stations, and a girl named Dixie. Not necessarily in that order.

Plot: W.W. is a happy-go-lucky crook who makes his living robbing gas stations through the drive-up windows. The Dixie Dancekings are a country music band trying to get their first big break. W.W. crosses paths with the Dixie Dancekings when he hijacks their car (and them) to help him rob a bank. At first, the band resists. However, when they discover how much money they make, they begin helping out voluntarily in order to finance their big break. At the same time, W.W. takes a liking to them and uses his natural charm and smooth-talking ways to help them start down the road to stardom.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

Back in the late 70s Burt Reynolds was THE MAN! You can tell he's really close to nailing that Burt charm in this picture. Too bad it's not all that great. I liked it OK but there's something about it that's just not sitting right with me. I can't explain it but it doesn't work for me. The acting is fine. It's neat seeing Burt's future BANDIT co-star, Jerry Reed, in his debut role and there are a few familiar character actor faces in the mix. Art Carney brings a little fun to the picture but not nearly as much as there could have been. WW is a misfire of a Southern crime comedy that should have been better. I'm looking at you, John G. "ROCKY (1976)" Avildsen.