Directed by: Jim Drake
Produced by: Murray Shostak
Written by: Michael Short
Starring: John Candy, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty, Donna Dixon & Alyssa Milano
Music by: David Wheatley
Distributed by: Orion Pictures
An asortment of various people are gathering at a quaint countryside inn in
preparation for the infamous 'Cannonball Run', an illegal three-day
cross-country race from Washington DC to Santa Monca where the winner and five
runners up will receive $1 million. However, the hot-headed Washington DC chief
of police Spiro T. Edsel (Peter Boyle), along with his long-suffering sidekick
Whitman (Don Lake), leads a raid on the inn where they arrest all of the drivers
to prevent the race from happening. As a result, all of the shady sponsors of
the race are forced to look for replacement drivers to drive their cars before
the race starts tomorrow.
Gus Gold (Eugene Levy), after seeing that his old school rival, oatfish Charlie
(John Candy), has skills of driving while currently working as a parking valet,
bullies him into driving his BMW that Gold is sponsoring. Gold also persuades
Charlie to bring along Tiffany (Donna Dixon) a dim-witted Marilyn Monroe-esq
actress and starlet along to keep an eye on her.
Vic (Joe Flaherty) is a local hitman-for-hire whom is tasked with killing Alec
(Matt Frewer) an Englishman deadbeat and compulsive gambler whom has squandered
thousands of dollars of money that he borrowed from various loan sharks. Alec
convinces Vic to ride with him in the Cannonball Run hoping to win the race and
use the winnings to pay off the various mobsters whom want Alec dead. Vic
reluntantly agrees to Alec's plan and they are tasked with driving a Jaguar
XJ-12 for the race.
Lee (Melody Anderson) and Margaret (Shari Belafonte) are tasked with driving a
Ferrari Daytona Spyder for the race after the driving they are trying to woo is
arrested. Being former MIT graduates in electronics and gadges, and tempted by
the prize money, Lee and Margaret agree to do so.
When the driver of the Lamborghini is arrested, a skittish Italian porter named
Valentino (Brian George) is forced to drive the car by Flash (Art Hindle), an
ex-cop whom wants the prize money for his own reasons.
Nelson and Randolph Van Sloan (Dick Smothers and Tom Smothers), two millionaires
and the only drivers whom were not arrested in the police sweep, are driving a
Bentley Corniche convertible for the race. But they spend the rest of the movie
trying to secretly catch a flight to Los Angeles in order to win by dirty means.
Following all of these drivers are a pair of TV reporters, Heather (Mimi Kuzyk)
and Jack (Tim Matheson), whom get so caught up in the action that they decide to
partake in the race while driving their Ford news van.
Pursuing all of the racers is Spiro T. Edsel, whom grows increasingly insane in
his unsuccessful efforts in trying to stop all of the racers. Edsel and his men
manage to arrest Vic and Alec, but they quickly escape and steal a police car to
continue the race, while Edsel and Whitman chase after them in their Jaguar.
By the end, it happens to be Edsel and Whitman driving the Jaguar which wins the
Cannonball Run at the end of the Santa Monica Pier with Vic and Alec coming in
second in their stolen police car, Charlie and Tiffany driving the BMW coming in
third, Lee and Margaret coming in fourth, Heather and Jack coming in fifth,
Flash and Valentino coming in sixth, and the Van Sloan brothers coming in last
while riding on roller skiis.
The end credits features the entire cast playfully driving bumber cars at the
Santa Monica pier.