when was the smokey and the bandit movies

Sometimes Hollywood really has me scatching my head. There's even a ridiculous training scene where the Snowman and Frog whip the bandit back into shape to make the big run. I mean, what happened to the mild-mannered, likeable, laid-back country boy that we all knew and loved from the first one? Why in the HELL did they have to make him into and alcoholic, washed-up, ego-maniac? I don't know how, but they managed to make him into one of the most unlikeable protagonists in cinematic history. I cringed every time Frog and the Bandit squabbled and I cringed whenever the Bandit would lose his cool and do something stupid. Seriously, when the characters behave NOTHING like they did in the original and the objective is to haul an elephant(!), you know you're in trouble. I also have to blame the rest of the cast for going along with it. What made this film so atrocious? Well, I have to blame it on the writers.

Everyone was back, inculding the director, they had the money to back it up, and they still couldn't get it right. Being an enormous fan of the first, and even finding some enjoyment from the third, I still can't say I like this one. I know I've mentioned before that I wasn't even going to bother writing a review for this one, but here it is: I've always wanted to like this movie.

When was the smokey and the bandit movies