Yeah, I should've specified that the comedy wasn't the departure - it was the more "sophisticated" nature vs. the hijinks of "Smokey and the Bandit".
I was actually really into those more "adult-oriented" movies back then. I'm a lowbrow dolt now, but I had elevated tastes as a pre-teen! :D
Never saw this, I guess because I was a pre-teen. 1979 is when my parents started to let me see "R" movies so that wasn't the total barrier, but I'm sure it was part of it.
"'R' movies I could see" essentially equaled "'R' movies my dad wanted to see too"! :D
I remember "Starting Over" was...