Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (March 25, 2025)
Ah, the 1970s, an era in which big studios made wacky comedies about… suicide? That becomes the basis of 1978’s Burt Reynolds affair The End.
Wendell "Sonny" Lawson (Reynolds) learns that he suffers from a fatal blood disease that will painfully kill him within a year. Rather than go through this ordeal, Sonny decides to kill himself via an overdose of sleeping pills.
He doesn’t succeed, however, and Sonny finds himself committed to a psychiatric hospital instead. There he befriends mentally unstable fellow patient Marlon Borunki (Dom DeLuise) and the pair strives to finally end Sonny’s life via any means necessary.
If a little movie called Star Wars didn’t exist, Reynolds’ Smokey and the Bandit would’ve been 1977’s biggest box office hit. Already a bit star, that movie’s massive success elevated Reynolds’ stature even more.
The End represented Reynolds’ second feature film as director, with 1976’s Gator as his debut in that regard. That one offered a crime drama and fell more into his wheelhouse, but with the profits of Smokey, Reynolds clearly felt emboldened to make more comedies.
And these paid off for him in 1978. With a mere $3 million budget, the nearly $45 million gross of The End meant it turned a sizable profit, and Reynolds’ $6 million 1978 action/comedy Hooper brought in $78 million.
Because it cast Reynolds as a movie stuntman, Hooper fit his established persona pretty naturally. Though comedic in nature, The End feels like Reynolds’ attempt to make baby steps toward a more serious range of parts, one that would intensify with 1979’s “adult dramedy” Starting Over.
The End feels like it can’t decide which way it wants to go. Half Mel Brooks farce, half weepy melodrama, neither side connects.
In many ways, The End comes across as Reynolds’ attempt to show his range as an actor. I get the sense he thought the Critical Establishment didn’t respect his talent, so he pushed toward more “serious” parts, a choice that would culminate in the aforementioned Starting Over.
A comedy about suicide seems like an odd place to emphasize acting skills, but as noted, The End broadens into more dramatic realms as well. All of this feels like it serves Reynolds’ ego more than anything else.
Reynolds did possess talent as an actor, but he just doesn’t fit into The End. He can’t pull off the movie’s comedic moments or its serious scenes.
Reynolds the director turns into a major impediment since he can’t figure out where he wants the story to go. As noted, The End offers a clumsy mix of hijinks and melodrama, neither of which blends well.
The End feels like Reynolds’ essentially wants to make a Mel Brooks movie, and the presence of Brooks collaborator DeLuise adds to that impression. Reynolds and DeLuise would develop into more of a pair after 1978, but this became their first film together.
When The End entertains, it does so due to DeLuise. Only he seems to grasp the movie’s need to embrace the wilder side of the tale, so he brings a frisky performance that gives the film occasional signs of life.
But then we get stuck with Reynolds’ failed attempts at humor and his generally flat turn as Sonny. He overacts relentlessly.
Pacing doesn’t help. The movie waits until close to its midway point before Sonny actually attempts suicide, and too much of the film feels like a collection of scenes linked by a vague theme. It doesn’t gel.
Mel Brooks probably could’ve pulled off The End, but Burt Reynolds couldn’t. Outside of some laughs provided by Dom DeLuise, the flick sputters.
Footnote: though I called The End the first time DeLuise and Reynolds worked together, technically that’s not true, as both appeared in 1976’s Silent Movie. However, while DeLuise played a major role in that film, Reynolds just showed up for a quick cameo, so the two didn’t truly collaborate there.
