The End (1978)

Burt Reynolds directed and stars in this dark comedy, which suffers from diminishing returns the longer it goes on. He plays a fellow who discovers that he has a terminal illness and wants to spare himself and everyone he knows the seemingly unavoidable end of a painful malady. So he decides to kill himself. But he proves surprisingly inept at it and after several tries winds up in a mental hospital, where he meets a cheerfully homicidal inmate (Dom DeLuise). The suicide stuff was handled more imaginatively and with greater flair in Harold and Maude; the film has very few real jokes and only comes to life twice: when Burt tries to confess to an easily impressed young priest (Robby Benson) and when the lunatic DeLuise is onscreen. --Marshall Fine Amazon.com

Still VERY funny

I remember my parent's taking my brother, sister, and I as kids to see this movie. (A LONG time ago)
I found it hilarious as a child, and watched it several times as an adolescent on cable. I ordered it because I remember Dom DeLuise being SO GREAT as Sonny's best INSANE friend trying to help him kill himself. Throughout the years my family has kept phrases from this movie alive. Such as "Your right Sonny, it's not high enough!" Or we mimic Burt at the end of the movie bargaining with God. The closer he gets to shore the more he rescinds or minimizes his promises to Him.
Without Dom, this movie would have been mediocre to BAD. But with him in it, I would still give it 5 stars. When he is introducing himself to Sonny (who thinks he's a doctor) and stands up propping his leg in the chair and while flashing Sonny with a great view of his 'privates' he proudly announces he is a patient,is a classic moment.
Great movie!!! May 2, 2008

"Fifty Percent. Lord! I'm Talking Gross."

In the late 1970's and early 1980's, Burt Reynolds was at the top of his game. His movies, while sometimes lacking in depth, were box office smashes. In between the two movies he starred-in that were directed by Hal Needham, "Smokey and the Bandit" and "Hooper," he directed and starred in "The End," a black comedy that was inspired by his own touch with an extended illness.

This is a very funny movie in which Reynolds, as Sonny Lawson, a real estate broker who discovers he has a terminal blood disease, decides he cannot wait to die, and he tries, unsuccessfully, to commit suicide, often with the help of Dom DeLuise, a deranged mental patient he meets along the way.

Burt has a natural gift for acting in comedy, as was shown in his movies "Smokey and the Bandit," "The Longest Yard," and his television series "Evening Shade," but there are times during "The End" where you feel that any other director would have kept him from overacting in several scenes, noteably the fishtank scene in the doctor's office. Had it not been for those types of scenes, I would have given "The End" five stars.

One personal note about "The End." I remember seeing it at a "sneak" preview in Birmingham, Alabama, with Burt, Sally Fields and Hal Needham in the theatre. Sally and Hal were two rows behind me, and Mr. Reynolds was in the projectionist's room (all of them travelled up to Birmingham from Tuscaloosa, where they were filming "Hooper.") The "preview" must of been agonizing to Mr. Reynolds because everyone in the theatre was trying to see him, and no one was paying attention to the movie. After several scenes went by with absolutely no laughs and only after occasional screams from the women in the theatre when someone would say, "There he is," did Mr. Reynolds give-up trying to look through the projectionist's window and resigned himself to sitting away from the projectionist's window until the movie was over. That was a great evening for a movie goer in Alabama.



January 28, 2008

Pain Hurts me...

"I'm terrified of pain. Pain hurts me." Thus says Sonny (Burt Reynolds) to his sidekick the 'Polish Prince', in 'The End.' The sight gags and outlandish silliness in this movie are just the ticket for any baby boomer trying to come to grips with his or her own mortality. Dom Deluise is at his manic (maniacal?) best here. The movie takes a serious subject-death- and allows us to laugh at it. I highly recommend "The End." January 16, 2008

"P": IN YOUR PANTS FROM LAUGHING TIME!!!!!!

This IS one THE classics along with "Young Frankenstein," "Blazing Saddles," "Texas Across the River," and ALL of the hilarious older movies.

When you're feeling down, pop this in your DVD player or VHS player and brighten up your mood. June 8, 2007

Brand new, but not perfect condition

Brand new, but some of the movie was blurry and not clear June 2, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...