Rat Race (2001)
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44% of critics liked it
(126 reviews) -
63% of users liked it
(383,283 ratings)
A very loose remake of the classic multi-star comedy It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), this madcap comedy is directed by Jerry Zucker, one third of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker comedy team and director of Ghost (1990). John Cleese stars as an eccentric casino owner who devises a contest pitting… More A very loose remake of the classic multi-star comedy It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), this madcap comedy is directed by Jerry Zucker, one third of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker comedy team and director of Ghost (1990). John Cleese stars as an eccentric casino owner who devises a contest pitting six teams against each other in a race to claim two million dollars from a locker in New Mexico. The competitors are Owen (Cuba Gooding Jr., who ends up driving a bus full of Lucille Ball imitators, a foreigner (Rowan Atkinson) who hitches a ride in an organ donor vehicle, and a recently reunited mother and daughter (Whoopi Goldberg and Lanei Chapman) who anger a "squirrel lady" (Kathy Bates) -- much to their regret. There are also two con artist brothers (Seth Green and Vince Vieluf), the upright Nick (Breckin Meyer), who gets a lift from cute but psychotic pilot Tracy (Amy Smart), and the eccentric Pear family, headed up by Jon Lovitz. Rat Race also stars Dave Thomas, Kathy Najimy, Wayne Knight, Dean Cain, and Paul Rodriguez. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Directed By
- Jerry Zucker
- Genres
- Comedy
- In Theaters
- Aug 17, 2001 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Rita Kempley, Washington Post
Fitfully amusing farce.
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Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
An overheated, underdone farce.
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Michael Atkinson, Village Voice
A few decent running gags ... and an ocean of bad ones.
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Susan Wloszczyna, USA Today
Race, which delights in bashing all manner of transportation, hits its silly stride early and never shifts into a higher gear.
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Peter Howell, Toronto Star
It's a mad mad mad mad world, all right, and Rat Race makes it seem all the zanier.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Rowan Atkinson
as Mr. Pollini
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John Cleese
as Donald Sinclair
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Whoopi Goldberg
as Vera Baker
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Cuba Gooding Jr.
as Owen Templeton
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Seth Green
as Duane Cody
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Jon Lovitz
as Randy Pear
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Breckin Meyer
as Nick
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Kathy Najimy
as Beverly Pear
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Amy Smart
as Tracy Faucet
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Lanei Chapman
as Merril Jennings
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Vince Vieluf
as Blaine Cody
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Paul Rodriguez
as Gus
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Wayne Knight
as Zack
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Dave Thomas
as Mr. Grisham
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Dean Cain
as Shawn
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Charlotte Zucker
as Lucy
- John Cheese



