ReelBob: ‘Burt Reynolds: The Last Interview’ ★★★
By Bob Bloom
If you are a fan of Burt Reynolds than the tribute documentary “Burt Reynolds: The Last Interview” will provide you with mixed emotions.
You will rejoice as Reynolds talks about his career, his legacy, acting, teaching and the state of the movie industry. But you will be sad that this movie was indeed Reynolds final interview before his death at age 82 on Sept. 6, 2018.
Writer-director Rick Pamplin does not focus solely on Reynolds career. He gets the actor, who was notorious during his decades in Hollywood, for avoiding interviews unless absolutely necessary, to talk about his teaching of up-and-coming actors at his theater in Jupiter, Florida.
The interview with Reynolds takes up the bulk of the movie’s running time. And while Reynolds discusses a range of subjects about acting, directing, producing and the current state of the movie industry, it is almost marred by the fawning of the interviewer, who is not identified, but sounds like Pamplin.
Reynolds is serious throughout the interview because, despite what audiences saw on screen, he took acting seriously.
Other people are interviewed about Reynolds as well. The most interesting is filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, who wanted Reynolds to portray ranch owner George Spahn in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Reynolds agreed, participated in table readings of the script, but died before filming began. Bruce Dern replaced him.
Andrew Kato of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre (formerly the Burt Reynolds dinner theater) discusses his memories of and interactions with the Reynolds when he worked as a youth at the dinner theater and later was a young, hopeful actor.
Also interviewed were Chuck Eldred and Michelle Hillery of the Palm Beach County Film & Television Commission, who describe Reynolds contributions to help build that area’s film industry.
“Burt Reynolds: The Last Interview” is a valentine to a performer whose movies reigned in Hollywood in the 1970s and 1980s, but also to an unselfish man who was generous to others, helping give them the tools they needed to perfect their craft.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.
BURT REYNOLDS: THE LAST INTERVIEW
3 stars out of 4Not rated