Burt Reynolds' Wetsuit Vest

There are a few movies that I consider to be incredibly well-executed and moving that I've sworn I'll never watch again. Schindler's List is one (loved it, but way too emotionally taxing for a quiet night at home), Requiem for a Dream ("ass-to-ass"—never again, but dazzling the first time) is another, and Deliverance is the grandaddy of them all. Or at least it was until I learned that freelance SW photog 'Lil Scoop hadn't seen it, so I sweated out a repeat screening at the Pigeon Ridge treehouse last night.

Suffice it to say, the film doesn't lose any of its disturbing power with time. But I've got to ask: What's with the ultra-modern wetsuit vest Burt Reynolds is sporting? Reynolds is supposed to be the biggest hayseed of his four-man suburban Atlanta crew, and yet he looks like a 1970's land-based version of Aquaman. Did Reynolds think he was being cast as a superhero in this film, and thus had the wetsuit vest built into his contract as a wardrobe requirement? Somebody please set me straight here.