While Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood‘s friendship dated back to the 50s, throughout their revered career run, they only joined forces for one movie, 1984’s City Heat. But despite being two of the most notable movie stars of that era, the movie was a major disappointment, both on and off-screen, as it left Reynolds with lasting consequences (via Far Out Magazine).
The buddy action comedy resulted in a severe injury for Reynolds after a stuntman mistakenly smashed him with a real metal chair, leaving the actor with a broken jaw, but that wasn’t the end of it. In order to cope with the pain, he turned to painkillers, which ultimately led to a long-term addiction.
City Heat Started Burt Reynolds’ Descent into Addiction
Although the Boogie Nights actor did wrap up City Heat‘s production, he had to undergo medical surgery that involved removing his bottom teeth and realigning them to reduce stress on his jaw. Following the treatment, Reynolds was left with severe pain, which he later described as worse than migraines.
This ultimately sparked his addiction to painkillers, and the late actor later admitted to consuming 50 a day. But given his stature as a movie star, the actor had to ensure his addiction remained under wraps. Things further escalated, leaving the actor in a coma for 8-9 hours, and the doctors, at one point, advised his then-wife to prepare for the worst (via TV Guide).
I went into a coma for about eight or nine hours. At one point they tell me that the doctors brought Loni [Anderson] in to say goodbye to me. And I had the whole out of body experience. I heard the doctor say, “We’re losing him.” And I was going…
Fortunately, he eventually turned things around and kept on delivering several classics, with his last movie, 2021’s Defining Moments, being released posthumously after Reynolds’ passing in 2018.
City Heat‘s Problems Extend Beyond Burt Reynolds’ Injury
For all the trouble Reynolds sustained as a result of his commitment to City Heat, which marked the first collaboration between Reynolds and Eastwood, what should’ve been a big deal shortly faded into obscurity.
Even at the time of its release, the movie struggled at the box office, which is surprising given the star power involved. The primary reason why the movie failed to leave an impact compared to the rest of Eastwood and Reynolds’ body of work is that the movie isn’t very good. Tonally, the movie is all over the place, caught between its attempt to be a noir detective story and a buddy comedy, and doesn’t excel at either.
This mostly stems from the creative disputes that plagued the production, as original writer Blake Edwards was pushed aside following his differences with Eastwood, which resulted in Richard Benjamin directing the movie (via /Film).
What we got as a result was a movie suffering from an identity crisis, which is a shame, as a partnership between Eastwood and Reynolds should’ve been a classic for the ages.
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City Heat can currently be rented on Apple TV (US).
