Rat Race

Rating:
Summary: It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad Movie...
Review: Every now and then, I will see a movie which has been out for awhile which I've taped from cable awhile back and only just got to, then check its rating in Amazon. After sitting through this bad, bad, bad, bad movie, I was shocked to see the overall general rating of this movie to be (at the time I write this) about 4 stars. I am wondering just what it is those who give this crap 4 or 5 stars (omigosh) were/are smoking, cause I'd like some of that perhaps. This was the absolute worst movie I've seen in quite some time. Does one need to be drunk or stoned or both to enjoy this mess, with a little brain-deadness (perhaps a lot) thrown in? My God, what are you people thinking?

I'm not going to compare it to its obvious rip, the classic "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," as I'm no great fan of that movie. But this movie compared to that one is like comparing a nice philly cheese steak to stale bread with lard. In a way, there simply IS no comparison. At least with the former, there is coherence and a general flow, and at best it is good as a long rainy-afternoon type of diversion, but THIS? What's another word for crap?

Nothing in this movie worked for me, nothing. I watched stone-faced, my mind drifting off to a 100 different subjects, each scene boring and overblown, the acting throughout nothing but hyperbole times google plex. I've never seen a movie with such OVER-acting. I know, I know, it's supposed to be a "madcap" over the top kinda movie, but why does EVERY character in this sludge seem to be stretching so much? Could it be the weak MATERIAL here? Ah, yes.

The fact is, imho, there is really nothing funny in this movie. That's a bad, bad, bad, bad thing for something advertised and pushed as a comedy I think. Every line here seems over-played unnecessarily, as if the actors were up on a stage, not in a film, and had to SHOUT their lines or something. There ARE some talented people here, who have done good work in other films, but in this movie, I'm sure most watching it themselves since secretly know it was just another payday here. Everything here is forced, everything. Whatever humor which might've existed is telegraphed so far in advance, that the punchlines fall flat as a pancake in virtually every single scene.

As I write this, trying to remember things from the movie on which to comment on, I find the still functioning parts of my brain blocking it all out. The cow is slightly amusing, for !0-20 seconds is the best I can say about this nonsense. How far we have slipped (and Zucker) from "Airplane," which understood that there is a SUBTLE nature to finding humor in absurdist situations and characters. I didn't believe for a moment in the reality of any of them here. It all seems as if it was written by a 3 year old, and some fine acting talent (available in other productions) should be ashamed of being a part of this, really.

I agree with one reviewer who lamented the unavailability (at the time I write this) of the great Tony Curtis/Debbie Reynolds movie, a truly unappreciated and very good flick. The setup and introduction of the characters here is slow-going and boring. I didn't care for any of them as they were all so cardboard. The middle/meat of the movie is one long tiresome bore, pretentious and boring and predictable. The ending is a totally unbelievable and contrived "politically correct" abomination.

I really have nothing to recommend about this movie. Rent this before you buy, and make your own decision. The "good" reviews on here for this astound me. They must've been watching a different movie than I saw. Thumbs way down, a mess, a real, real, real, real mess...

Rating:
Summary: Fluffy and Light
Review: If you are coming off of a long week at work or school and need something mindless to watch, this is the movie for you.

This movie centers on winners of a casino owner's (John Cleese) little lottery, which sends these people racing to Silver City in order to collect two million dollars out of a locker. There is the mother (Whoopi Goldberg) and long lost daughter, the reluctant attorney and the psycho helicopter pilot played by Amy Smart, the dumb brothers, the Jewish family, and the disgraced football ref, Cuba Gooding, Jr. We also have the Mr. Bean guy.

The humor is pretty slapstick. The bus full of Lucy impersonators, the cow, the heart for the transplant, the Jewish family in the skinhead's Nazi museum, and Amy Smart's helicopter hijinx are all amusing. Whoopi's character and her daughter run into a rather cooky lady played by Kathy Bates that results in one of the movie's funnier scenes.

While this is a funny movie, it wasn't the type of movie that you talk about the next day, and it's not one that I would watch again. It's fluffy and mindless, and does not attempt to be anything but.



Rating:
Summary: Don't compare this to Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Review: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World was one of the greatest movies of all time (of any genre).
This movie was funny and worth watching but not as good as it could have been. I'd almost have to describe it as sloppy editing. Characters seem to jump from situation to situation and it works for most parts but there are a few scenes where the transition just didn't work and frankly left me scratching my head. Cuba Gooding's escape from the Lucy impersonators comes to mind; One scene he's running down the road, the next scene he's face down in a field somewhere. How did he get there? Where did the Lucy's go? (You do find out, on the DVD, that his escape was in a scene that was deleted. But if you delete that scene don't you have to film a different escape scene?) The ending left me a little flat too. These people have broken hundreds of laws, destroyed property, etc. and it just ends. I won't give away the entire ending but I always wonder what happened after the cameras stopped rolling and the feds showed up to drag everyone away in leg irons.
Maybe I shouldn't expect a taut intricate script for a movie like this but with the cast they assembled and as funny as some of the scenes were I thought it could have been a lot better.
Like I said, funny and worth watching but definitely doesn't hold a candle to Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Rating:
Summary: What the Heck?
Review: This was the oddest, wierdest, strangest, dumbest, movie in the world! I LOVED (...) It was really stupied some of the things that happened like one of the guys found a bus full of I Love Lucy impersinators to that whole "Squirrel thing." But it's an awesome, hilarious movie and I loved it.

Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: The Hitler scene is probably my favorit movie comedy scene since I can remember, and though the entire movie doesn't have me rolling in the aisles, it's all worth watching. If you're looking for sophisticated and highbrow, this might not meet your fancy, but for everyone else I don't think you can go wrong with this comedy.

Rating:
Summary: It's a race! It's a race! and this film wins!
Review: This movie has been compared to "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and quite rightly so as the two movies have a lot in common. Mainly, they are both about as funny as a fire in an orphanage!! "....Mad World" has the edge because it has just about every classic comedian of the '50s and '60s in starring and cameo roles. So, spotting the wonderful heads is actually more fun than the actual movie storyline. "Rat Race" is similar because you can spend a couple of hours spotting the abundance of BAD heads.... you can start with Whoopi Goldberg!! This film tries to have the charm of the 1960s star-studded "Great Race" comedies but it misses by miles. This is, after all, the 'let's-not-upset-anybody' New Millenium...so what do you expect? Nostalgia? But in these Politically Correct times, tamed and sterile-minded audiences will laugh at any unfunny loser just to be nice ...so go for it!!