Repeated viewings have left me to realize that I'd rather sit through the original "It's A Mad, Mad...World" than this shitty remake. Very few comic moments.
There where some good moments in this movie and as usual both John Cleese and Rowan atkinson where good at doing what they are best at, beeing funny. but whoppi goldbergs time is over.
A casino tycoon gives six contestants a chace to win two million dollars in a race from Las Vegas to New Mexico. The race turns out to be hilarious, all of them trying to outrun each other in order to arrive first. The movie is a great comedy and 'you will laugh 'til you cry' (Sandie Newton, CBS-TV).
There was a time - back in the '80s - when the name of Jerry Zucker guaranteed a non-stop barrage of jokes. Together with his brother, David, and Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker was involved in some of the best-remembered comedies of the Reagan era, including Airplane! and The Naked Gun. Those two films spawned an entire sub-genre that relied upon the tactic of saturation humor - keep up the rapid-fire pace of puns, visual gags, slapstick, and other jokes, and everyone in audience will be kept laughing, even if only 50% of the comedy works. Over the years, Zucker has tried his hand at other things (he helmed the maudlin tearjerker Ghost and the lame King Arthur tale, First Knight), but his forte has always been comedy. Now, after more than a decade removed from directing this kind of film, he has returned to the fold with Rat Race. And, joining him for this outing is an amazing cast of funny people: Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz, Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese, Dave Thomas, and others.
Rat Race delivers its share of laughs - just not as many as one might reasonably expect from a premise that is essentially a re-working of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (which, upon occasion, I have called It's a Long, Long, Long, Long Movie). One of the reasons for this is that a lot of the jokes fall flat. There are numerous comic set-pieces that don't work, either because they're too sophomoric or simply not funny. There are bursts of inspired humor, but these moments don't quite balance out the failed jokes (there are few things more uncomfortable in a movie than an intended comic sketch that doesn't generate laughter). If your only goal in going to a movie is ensuring that you will laugh at some point during a two hour period, Rat Race fills the bill; however, it doesn't offer much more.
The premise is simple. One of the wealthiest men in Las Vegas, Donald Sinclair (John Cleese), decides to sponsor a race that his richest guests can wager on. To this end, he randomly chooses six groups of people and pits them against each other - the first to reach a train station locker in Silver City, New Mexico gets $2 million. The only rule is that there are no rules. So, by foot, car, bus, train, helicopter, hot air balloon, and horseback, they head for the finish line. The teams are comprised of a nuclear family (Jon Lovitz, Kathy Najimy, Brody Smith, Jillian Marie), a straitlaced businessman and a pretty helicopter pilot (Breckin Meyer and Amy Smart, reunited from their last Road Trip), a mother and daughter (Whoopi Goldberg, Lanei Chapman), a pair of con-men brothers (Seth Green, Vince Vieluf), an NFL referee who is fleeing the aftermath of a blown call (Cuba Gooding Jr.), and a narcoleptic Italian (Rowan Atkinson).
A lot of the comedy in Rat Race involves people falling down stairs, banging heads together, and enduring other pratfalls. I suppose a lot of viewers find this stuff hilarious; I'm not among them. This kind of humor always strikes me as lazy and obvious. Of more interest are the Squirrel Lady's revenge, adventures with the first flying cow since Twister, Hitler's arrival at the WWII veteran's convention, and the runaway heart (featuring the rarest of rare moments - the death of a movie dog). There are more Lucille Ball impersonators than there were Elvis doppelgangers in 3000 Miles to Graceland. Rowan Atkinson does a funny walk and a strange accent. And John Cleese, despite being surprisingly restrained and showing off brilliantly white teeth, has one opportunity to go into one of his trademarked tirades. (The opening credits, by the way, could be seen as an homage to "Monty Python".)
With the number of top-level actors involved in this project, Rat Race can hardly be considered "small" or "low profile". It's a major motion picture comedy, but, as such, it may leave many viewers dissatisfied. The ending is too long and drawn-out, causing the film to last about 15 minutes longer than it should. Fortunately, it doesn't fall into the trap of trying to incorporate elements of character-building melodrama. Zucker and writer Andrew Breckman wisely choose to keep the characters two-dimensional and to avoid even a whiff of sentiment. Like last year's Road Trip, Rat Race is a mindless diversion that will delight some viewers (those who are just interested in experiencing the occasional laugh) and will discourage others (those who hope for something resembling substance or invention). It's a mixed bag that's a perfect fit for this summer of mediocrity.
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Rat race gives a good laugh, good actors too! the plot is total madness, very cheesy in some scenes, and failure ending scene! though Smash mouth ending song, makes a shock turns. :P
My fav actors should be, Whoopi goldberg, Jon lovitz and Amy smart!
Not exactly a film that will make all time top 100 movie charts or anything, but I still rate it highly because it was so hilarious. It's just so incredibly absurd, that it is funny.
Filled with a great cast and an okay story that was sort of ripped off of MAD,MAD,MAD,MAD,MAD,MAD WORLD, this film works even in this day and age. Go back and watch MAD,MAD,MAD,MAD,MAD,MAD WORLD and you'll see what I mean.
What a calamity this rat race was, many hilarious scenes and a great ending, just dessert for the hotel manager who had no intention of parting with the money but made to match it with money raised at charity concert.
The only good part about this movie was the new phrase I learned: "Prairie dogging it! "My husband will now announce this to me when he has to go #2 really badly .
OMG! this is the MOST hilarious movie tht i hav ever seen!...i love this!.. Its got the best comedy actors!.Breckin, Whoopi, Jon Lovitz, Rowan and SETH!.. lol..
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