The End

When California real-estate agent Wendell "Sonny" Lawson (Burt Reynolds, Semi-Tough) is told that he only has six months to live he decides to try and beat the grim reaper to the punch in the darkly comic The End. After a failed overdose (a handful of pills and sour milk do not mix), the hospitalized Sonny finds the solution to his problem in his fellow inmate, the certifiably insane Marlon (Dom DeLuise, Blazing Saddles). As it turns out Marlon is of little help, botching Sonny's suicide attempts at every turn. Nothing works - not hanging, not jumping from a tower, not bludgeoning by an adjustable hospital bed, not even holding his breath until he dies. During a drowning attempt, Sonny has a change of heart. How could he possibly leave his daughter, Julie (Kristy McNichol, Little Darlings) orphaned. Marlon, unaware of Sonny's sudden zest for life, is a man on a mission who'll stop at nothing to make sure that his friend's wish is fulfilled in The End. The End, directed by Burt Reynolds (Sharkey's Machine) from a screenplay by Jerry Belson (Smile) features Joanne Woodward (The Three Faces of Eve), Sally Field (Steel Magnolias), Pat O'Brien (Some Like It Hot), Myrna Loy (The Thin Man), Carl Reiner (Ocean's Eleven), Norman Fell (TV's Three's Company), David Steinberg (Nothing Personal) and Robby Benson (Harry & Son).