Rat Race Movie
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608x252 | 584.7 MiB | divx | |
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Storyline
TAGLINES
563 miles. 9 people. $2 million. 1001 problems!
A group of billionaires led by a Las Vegas casino owner (John Cleese) search for things to bet on. They decide to pull a group of six strangers together to race from Vegas to Silver City, New Mexico to retrieve $2 million hidden in a locker. First one there gets all of the money. The first team are two addled brothers (Seth Green and Vince Vieluf, who talks indecipherably because of a newly pierced tongue). When they cannot catch a plane, they plot to destroy an airport control tower in a very funny sequence. Their antics carry them into a hot air balloon chase that catches a cow with a dangling rope and into a monster truck competition. The second team is an estranged mother (Whoopi Goldberg) reunited with her daughter (Lanai Chapman), who is struggling to start a business. They face an insane squirrel-selling woman (Kathy Bates) and steal a rocket car scheduled for a land speed record attempt. A hated NFL referee (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) is stranded in the desert by an irate cabbie (Paul Rodriguez) and hijacks a busload of Lucille Ball look-alikes on the way to a convention. The Jewish family man (Jon Lovitz) on a family vacation joins the race without telling his wife (Kathy Najimy) why they are rushing across the country. When his daughter insists on stopping at a Barbie museum, it is without realization that it is the Klaus Barbie Nazi Museum. The escape from that location involves the theft of Hitler's personal touring car and culminates with Lovitz having his tongue burned and accidentally crashing into a WWII Veteran's convention. A narcoleptic Italian (Rowan Atkinson in his best Mr. Bean-like manner) gets a ride with an ambulance driver (Wayne Knight), who is carting a human heart for a transplant. Through various ineptitude, the heart ends up flying out of the truck's window and the two have to recover it from a playful dog. The final race member (Breckin Meyer) is a straight-laced future lawyer who at first declines to participate in the race, but re-thinks his position after he meets a smart, beautiful woman (Amy Smart) who is flying a helicopter to New Mexico. He quickly finds out that she is unbalanced after she flies over her boy friend's house and starts an attack on the boy friend when she sees him in the pool with an ex-girl friend. An air pursuit results in the crash of the helicopter. Dave Thomas also appears as Cleese's humorless attorney.
| John Cleese | |
| Rowan Atkinson | |
| Breckin Meyer | Nick Schaffer |
| Amy Smart | |
| Whoopi Goldberg | Vera Baker |
| Cuba Gooding Jr. | Owen Templeton |
| Jenica Bergere | Hotel Clerk |
| Carrie Diamond | Casino Bartender |
| Douglas Haase | Guy at Bar |
| Kevin Frazier | Fox Sportscaster |
| Seth Green | Duane Cody |
| Vince Vieluf | Blaine Cody |
| Gloria Allred | Herself |
| Renée Lee | Witness in Crowd |
| Jane C. Walsh | Cocktail Waitress |
| Lanei Chapman | Merrill Jennings (Baker) |
| Jerry Zucker |
6.30 out of 10 (21792 votes)
Visitor Reviews
If you like physical comedy and laughing...
posted on 06 Aug 2009I just bought the DVD today (7/3/07) 6 years after I saw it in the theater. The visit to the Barbie Museum is just as hilarious, and "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" - well, you have to see Amy Smart in this role. The plot is copied from It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World which I think is one of the comedy classics - take a group of unrelated people, point them to some treasure at the end of the rainbow, stand back and watch human nature take over. In other words, cheating, scheming, falling over each other trying to get there first. I like John Cleese, Cuba Gooding, Whoppi Goldberg...and was smitten with Amy Smart - just don't get her angry with you ;-)In the Special Features section all the actors were saying that it was a true joy on the set even with 14 hour days - lots of laughing and good times - and it shows in the performances.
Very funny
posted on 27 Jul 2009This is a very funny movie. The thing that keeps the movie going, is the fact that everyone will do everything to get their hands on the money. As once said:"Money makes the world turn around".However this is an uneven affair. Some of the jokes work well, others do not work at all. Some of the situations work well, others not. It is also the same for the characters.Most of the characters are well portrayed(especially Jon Lovitz and the 2 brothers), some are nothing but a one time joke which were stretched to a long film(Whoopi Goldberg) and the character of Rowan Atkinson is nothing more than Mister Bean with an Italian accent.Nevertheless it is quite hilarious. If you look for a sophisticate funny film, look somewhere else. Jerry Zucker is not known for sophistication. He does what he do and he does it well. Which means that this is a movie with a lot of vulgar jokes which makes you lough. In these troubled time, it serve as a way of distraction and that is fine with me and it should be fine with anyone who watch it.There is nothing wrong with laughing and this film make you laugh.
One of the funnest comedies of 2001
posted on 23 Jul 2009From start to finish, it's all laughs. The movie is meant to be wacky and to be really taken seriously. I especially love the part when Jon Lovitz looks like Hitler. It's one of the best popcorn comedies of 2001. Just sit back and have fun. B+, 8/10
Wacky Race for $
posted on 17 Jul 2009Summary- Six teams are chosen at random to compete in a race to get to a locker with $2,000,000 seven hundred miles away. All teams, the race organizers, and those they meet on the way are foolish/nutty/wild characters.Good Points- Some of the situations are really funny, for example, a Jewish family touring the Hitler Museum and stealing Hitler's limo was a highlight. The wilder the characters were really a riot, two 20 something brothers personified a raft of generation X stereotypes. I also enjoyed catching up on some new language; a child protesting her father's unwillingness to allow a bathroom stop complained that she was, "prairie dogging." That killed me.Weak points- Real lack of sexuality. In this day and age I think you should be able to expect some toplessness for the price of admission.
We should have bought a squirrel.
posted on 13 Jul 2009I was at a friend's to see 'Moulin Rouge!' (which I found interesting and amusing, but altogether peculiar and which made me want very much to see the older film of the same name with Jose Ferrer as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and why wasn't that character in *this* film called Henri, but instead called 'Toulouse', anyhow?) and afterwards he kind of forced us to watch 'just a little--we'll turn it off any time you want' of something called 'Rat Race'. I don't recall hearing anything about this film when it came out. It's got some very very funny moments--the truck and the tower, the cow and the balloon, the squirrel lady...we ended up watching the whole thing, at most points giggling uncontrollably--and I'm wondering *why* I never heard anything about it. I mean...Seth Green, John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz, not to mention some amazing cameos--while not all spectacular talents, these people are not exactly cinematic unknowns! Did I just have my head under a rock when it came out, or what? Anyhow, if you're in the mood for something totally silly, not in the best of taste but good for a giggle, you could do worse.
absolutely brilliant
posted on 13 Jul 2009i honestly do not believe that we will ever see a more clever or well written ensemble comedy for roughly 10 years. it is well written with about 4 dozen good jokes and a whole lot of cheesy heart filled moments. there is not too much swearing, which is good. I feel there are a couple of people who deserve acknowledgments. The first is Andy Breckman for his brilliant screenplay. The next is Jon Lovitz for giving the best performance in the whole movie. I can't leave out Jerry Zucker for direction. Last, i need to credit Lovitz for the genius Nazi scene. See this movie if you have not it is brilliant. From the piecaptain himself, that is really rare.
Call the Doctor
posted on 13 Jul 2009While watching this ensemble piece, one thought came to my mind...I'm going to have a coronary from laughing so hard. I'd put this movie off primarily due to the premise...cross country chase movies are like the little branch of parsley on your plate at Denny's...nice to look at every now in then, but something we all usually brush to the side to get to what we're really interested in. This was different though...it was brilliant writing and wonderful timing on everyone's part...especially kudo's to Jon Lovitz who had me snorting ice tea out of my nose...and I hadn't had any ice tea for three weeks prior to watching this movie. WWII veterans, vacationing families, Neo-Nazi's, Smash Mouth Fans, red heads, female pilots and gamblers will all love the tongue in cheek approach this movie took in sparing no one from the sights of their humorous antics. All in all, it is most definitely worth watching, and for certain a must in any dvd/video collection.
Development and Payoff
posted on 09 Jul 2009Rat Race really is, in spirit, a retread of the old classic 'Its a mad, mad, Mad, Mad World'. However, that older movie was one fairly realistic situation after another, with each being a commentary on how basically decent people behave when tempted by greed. The newer film, on the other hand, shifts its focus to a more slapstick angle, with one huge buildup and payoff gag followed by another. And that buildup is the key to this movies success.....without it, the actual punchlines (read 'payoff') would seem trivial and not funny. Many people in the theatre during the showing I saw suffered from this. They sat and talked during the buildups, and then snapped their attention back to the screen during the slapstick parts, but seemed disappointed at the end; they did not find the payoffs funny. In spite of their rude behavior, I was able for the most part to pay attention to the succession of seemingly throwaway details which finally came together and made the payoffs funny in a sustained, sidesplitting way.No, this is not a great comedy, and if one expects the wall to wall gag-a-minute 'Naked Gun' type laughs, there will be disappointment. This movie has probably a dozen really good laughs, each following the slow buildup, and those little details can be important.I also noticed the low-key subplot, which involves the mini-bets the gamblers place while waiting for the big gamble to resolve. Many of these were inspired.
One of the funniest films of all time
posted on 13 Jun 2009This film took physical comedy to the extreme. The verbal gags were a bit thin, but after a slow start this film really took off, with non-stop laughter all the way. This film did have its faults, Rowan Atkinson was underused, but Andrew Breckman had a very tough job backing up the physical humour with an amazing script. All I can say is that reviewers who found this film too reliant on toilet humour should learn to relax and switch their brains off a bit more at the cinema. I defy anyone who didn't find the squirting milk scene even a bit funny.
Get ready to laugh
posted on 05 Jun 2009I haven't laughed so hard in years. Yes, it's goofy and mostly sight gags. But it works!Amy Smart is great. The glee on her face after she gets revenge is priceless.Jon is a great comedic actor.The only disappointment was Cleese -- he wasn't as good as he usually is, but I think that's the script's fault.Don't bring popcorn -- you'll be coughing it up.
Nonstop wackiness
posted on 03 Jun 2009In "Rat Race", a Las Vegas casino magnate selects a motley bunch of people at random, gives them keys to a public locker containing $2 million in cash in a town 500+ miles away, and tells them to go for it. What ensues is nonstop wackiness as the characters try to beat each other to the cash. A gag-a-minute, this flick is packed with unbridled and unabashed silliness in a sort of contemporary Vaudeville-meets-Hollywood road trip format. Well worth a look for those with a taste for unsophisticated, wacky comedy.
Over the top, but in a masterful way
posted on 03 Jun 2009Although the directing and editing of this film leaves a lot of areas where a film scholar would cringe, the constant heavy fire of jokes and gags compensates nicely. There's a hint of character development early on for each of the contestants, but just enough for the audience to select their favorites before the string of skits begins and we embark on the plot.There is SO much going on in this film that there's no breathing room, and that's all the better. You've got six different tracks constantly competing and raising the stakes, as well as 'breather' comic relief from Don Sinclair's million-dollar play-time parties. There's no part of the movie where you could escape for a bathroom break and miss an incredibly hilarious pay-off.Although the film is over-the-top, that's all part of its charm. The shock humor works so well that you won't have many problems suspending your disbelief for long enough to laugh in pity at the competitors on screen. In addition, all the different fiascos in the race connect beautifully in ways to jar the audience even more (such as the cow-hanging-off-a-balloon-slamming-into-a-bus-filled-with-I-Love-Lucy-fanati cs-causing-it-to-crash-and-tip-over bit). Told you you didn't want to take that bathroom break.You can tell it was a lot of fun for the cast and crew, and it certainly is for the audience as well. A refreshingly pleasing slapstick comedy.
I like this movie.
posted on 03 Jun 2009OK - you have to have a certain tolerance for slapstick comedy to enjoy this fluff. Not quite as painfully funny as Zucker's classic 'Airplane', but not without its moments of sheer hilarity. The actors seem to be having a good time, too, all of them energetic and all on the same page. Maybe that's why this works as well as it does. Or perhaps it's more of a testament to director Jerry Zucker, who is definitely in his element here. So, watch it on a rainy day or whenever you feel like something that will leave you in stiches. Something to offend pretty much everyone.
Funny, funny, funny movie
posted on 30 May 2009When I saw this trailer on TV, I thought that this was one movie I could pass up. It looked more stupid than funny. I couldn't have been more wrong. Friends convinced me to go with them to see the preview on Sat. night. Loved the opening credits. Very, very clever. The movie started off a little slow, but it didn't take long for the laughs to start. And they just kept on coming until the end. Favorite scenes are numerous but two I will mention are the radar station and the Barbie museum. And, oh, yes, the cow!!!! The cast was superior and especially brilliant was Kathy Bates as the squirrel lady.One storyline I didn't think was funny was the one with Wayne Knight. It was too serious a subject for me. Fortunately, it didn't ruin the movie, though.Would definitely recommend this movie to friends and see it again myself. I rate this movie a 9 out of 10. (If it weren't for the Wayne Knight storyline, I would give it a 10!)
A great movie to see if you want to laugh
posted on 26 May 2009I wanted to see a movie that would make me laugh, and this one really succeeded. There are so many gags and stunts thrown in that it would be hard to single any of them out (besides which, I don't want to spoil any surprises by divulging them). But I think what really made this film successful was the comic ability of the actors, each of whom turned in a solid performance. Movies with a lot of manic energy can fall flat if the timing isn't quite right, in which case they become painful to watch.
Remember Tom Hanks in "Bachelor Party"? Also with a large ensemble cast you run the risk of having the characters become indistinguishable from each other, or of having over the top caricatures that wear thin in a hurry.
That didn't happen here. Seth Greene and Vince Vieluf were especially good, and the combination of Lanei Chapman as a driven yuppie and Whoppi Goldberg as her sweet natured long lost mother worked perfectly. Rowan Atkinson would have become annoying if he were given more screen time, but as one of many in a large cast his character was quite funny and made a great contribution. My only quibble with this movie was that the ending didn't seem quite right. Without giving away what happens, I'll say that I think the writers got to the end and didn't know what to do, and in my opinion the result looked like a car running out of gas. Despite that, I was laughing very hard through most of this movie as was the audience I saw it with.
One and a half cheers
posted on 20 May 2009Within 20 minutes of Rat Race starting, you realise this is simply a rip-off of It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World — same premise, same manic situations in which a disparate collection race each other to lay claim to the prize, in this case $1 million. Admittedly, it's been many years since I watched the Mad, but I seem to remember the wacky situations the hunters found themselves weren't half as contrived, and so twice as funny. Rat Race has 'screenwriters had a hoot writing this one' written all over it. But the laughs don't really translate to the screen. There are one or two quite good jokes — a stereotypical Jewish family visit the Barbie Museum at daughter's insistence, only to find it is a museum in memory of that nasty Nazi Klaus Barbie and later take off in Hitler's limo. It's a gag only producers called Zucker could get away with, and to say it was contrived is being kind. But it was reasonably funny, as was the conceit that some people will bet on anything, even the price a hooker will charge for very outlandish services. Shame there were not more jokes like that, however much they are in bad taste. The rest of the film is though short on laughs unless you're desperate. (A coachload of Lucille Ball lookalikes heading for an I Love Lucy convention must have looked hilarious on paper, but never caught fire on screen.) The finale was puke-making. And I can't even be bothered to give it away.
FUNNY!
posted on 16 May 2009This movie, for those of you old enough to remember it, will see the similarities to the old Spencer Tracy "It's a Mad Mad Mad World..." But this is a great time for the whole family. It includes a star studded cast, and the typical comedic gags that we have to expect where one of the Zucker boys is involved. One of the greatest things about this movie on DVD vs. seeing it at the theater is the outtake section on the DVD. I am a sucker for outtakes anyway, but once you've seen this film, and then watch this section, it is all the funnier! I also thought this was a great vehicle for certain members of the cast to do show their comedic abilities. Enjoy the film
I haven't seen a movie this funny for a long time.
posted on 24 Apr 2009This is one of the funniest movies I have seen lately. From beginning to end, it will keep you rolling in the halls. The cast was excellent, it couldn't have been better. In the beginning, some lucky people get a gold coin in the slot machines, telling them that they've won, and they all go into this room for a free buffet. John Cleese tells them 2 million dollars is in a locker in Silver City, New Mexico. Of course, they don't believe him, and are about to all just continue their trip in Las Vegas, till Jon Lovitz goes down the stairs (they're all waiting for the elevator). They catch on, race down the stairs, and the race is on!
They all have so much trouble along the way it's hilarious. The cast is incredible, they are very funny. It has an ending that you really wouldn't expect. I strongly advice everyone to see this movie, you'll be laughing for days. I give 4 out of 4 stars. Go see it today!!
Entertaining and Just Plain Fun
posted on 28 Aug 2009This movie was based on "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and sure enough, it copies the zaniness and pure fun of the race for big money. It also copies the bad ending.There were many absolutely hilarious moments in the movie...my favorites were the gambling games of John Cleese and Dave Thomas (Pepto-Bismol??), the monster-truck rally slow-motion sequence, Cuba Gooding's reaction to the Lucy impersonator's confession, Rowan Atkinson singing the wrong song lyrics from what's being played on the radio, the squirrel-lady's shortcut, and the girls in the rocket car looking out the window at a certain projectile in the air.But not everything hits the mark...there were some things that didn't work.
As much as I like Wayne Knight, the whole sequence with the heart was pretty bad. And the ending....yikes. Just about anything would have been better than that. It's pretty sad when that made me yearn to see something like a bunch of people flying off a firetruck's ladder. At least that still had zaniness written all over it.The acting is really good...I think comic acting is much tougher than dramatic. Kudos to John Cleese, Dave Thomas, Cuba Gooding, Seth Green, Vince Vieluf, Rowan Atkinson, and Amy Smart. You all made the movie to me.
It wouldn't have worked unless you went over the top. Good job.I wish Hollywood made more movies like this...except decide to be brave with the ending for once. As funny as it was, it could have been better.
7/10