Burt Reynolds: The Last Interview

Directed by Rick Pamplin, Burt Reynolds: The Last Interview is an exceedingly (and distressingly) erratic documentary that boasts, at its core, a hit-and-miss conversation with the title movie star – with the picture’s overall impact hampered by a palpable lack of streamlining and an emphasis on periphery interviews that are, for the most part, dry and underwhelming. (This is particularly true of the lengthy chat with one of Reynolds’ close work associates, as this discussion, though periodically interesting, suffers from a pronounced let’s-get-on-with-it-already sort of feel.) The main attraction here, of course, is the lengthy dialogue between Pamplin and his iconic subject, as the filmmaker delivers a seemingly unedited representation of their meandering, protracted exchange that’s rarely as engrossing or enthralling as one might’ve hoped – with the often uncomfortably fawning bent of Pamplin’s questions only exacerbating the movie’s less-than-stirring atmosphere. (Even Reynolds himself seems put off by Pamplin’s excessively obsequious demeanor.) And although the film admittedly does contain a few intriguing tidbits and stretches here and there (eg Quentin Tarantino talks about working with Reynolds before his passing), Burt Reynolds: The Last Interview ultimately comes off as a fairly interminable endeavor that could only have worked had it been cut down significantly – which is too bad, undoubtedly, given the potential inherent in a full-length interview with a notoriously press-shy movie star.

*1/2 out of ****