They don’t make cast-packed comedies like The Cannonball Run anymore. That doesn’t mean it’s all good, but it is damned enjoyable.

Hal Needham and Burt Reynolds were coming off Smokey and the Bandit and Hooper, and this road movie was a fun next step. Originally designed as an action film for Steve McQueen, when the actor passed it was retooled as a comedy for Burt Reynolds, an actor who was at the top of his game at the time.

Needham, himself, took part in the coast-to-coast race that defines the actual cannonball race. And then incorporated the ambulance he used as the vehicle for Reynolds’ character JJ, and his friends.

With dozens of characters, there are no real arcs, just a bunch of gags, moments, and stunts that let Reynolds and his castmates play. And what a great group of people to play with, Dom DeLuise, Farah Fawcett, Roger Moore who is playing a man named Seymour who has undergone surgery to look like Roger Moore, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Adrienne Barbeau, Jack Elam, Jamie Farr and Jackie Chan (so you know there has to be a fun fight scene somewhere along the way).

JJ and his buddy, Victor (DeLuise) run a delivery service, but are gearing up for the cross-country race. As are countless others. And attempting to foil all of it is political hack Foyt (George Furth).

Fawcett is Pamela who is a nature photographer gets wrapped up in things when JJ and company abduct her to pose as their patient in the ambulance. JJ, Victor, and their questionable Doctor (Elam) win her over, and the race is on.

It’s goofy, silly, a little sexy, and a lot of it is still a lot of fun.

Moore drives the actual Aston Martin that was featured in Goldfinger, Martin and Davis are racing around in a Ferrari, and Barbeau and Tara Buckman whip along in a black Lamborghini and tight body suits, and once racer is popping a wheelie on a motorcycle for the entire journey.

It’s easy to see why this one was fun and popular, but there’s no real substance to it, it’s just a comedy meant to entertain and show lots of familiar faces being funny. And if that’s what you want from it, then it works. But it’s not good for much else.

Still, it would be interesting to see a fun bunch of actors getting together for something like this. You could argue that The Fast and The Furious franchise is probably closest, but it needs a little bit more comedy added into it.

The film did well enough to warrant a sequel in 1984, but it didn’t do the numbers the original did, and the franchise faded away.

But damn if Reynolds isn’t just awesome in this one.