The End (1978)

After being diagnosed with a terminal illness by his doctor (Norman Fell), a man (Burt Reynolds) decides to commit suicide rather than face the deterioration and pain that will come with the fatal illness. In addition to playing the leading role, Reynolds also directs this uneven black comedy. It plays out like a series of comedy sketches stitched together, some are okay but some like the sequence with Reynolds and a priest (Robby Benson) are awful. But at the halfway mark, a small miracle occurs. Dom DeLuise turns up as a psychotic schizophrenic and suddenly the picture is actually funny. DeLuise attacks his role with glee and abandon, a plump neurotic demon bubbling over with vitality in between bouts of self loathing. As for the rest of the film, it's mostly Reynolds and there's something unpleasantly narcissistic about his performance and I'm still not sure if it's the actor or the character. With Joanne Woodward, Sally Field, Myrna Loy, Carl Reiner, Pat O'Brien, Kristy McNichol and David Steinberg.