Rat Race

Millionaire Donald Sinclair leaves $2 million in a locker at Silver City train station, 700 miles outside Las Vegas, and challenges a group of Vegas tourists to race to get it. The first to reach the chest gets the money.

Jo Berry said in his review, “Back in the 1980s - before he made sob-fest 'Ghost' and the teeth-gnashingly awful King Arthur saga, 'First Knight' - the words 'directed by Jerry Zucker' on the screen heralded a stupidly funny movie, be it 'Ruthless People', 'Airplane' or even the terribly silly 'Top Secret'.” With “Rat Race,” released in 2001, his first film in six years, Zucker returns to his originality, giving a silly, old-fashioned adventure-comedy that may not be too much to think about but will make a person laugh uproariously.

The story is simple (and similar to 1963’s “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”). A group of different tourists in Las Vegas each win a special coin that lets them take part in a race organized by strange millionaire Donald Sinclair, played by John Cleese. He has put $2 million in a locker 700 miles away, and whoever gets there first can keep the money, while Sinclair’s rich friends place bets on who that might be.

Look at the group Sinclair has put together. There’s stumbling Italian Mr. Pollini, family man Randy (Jon Lovitz), who drags his unsuspecting family with him, dumb and dumber brothers Blaine (Vince Vieluf) and Duane (Seth Green), uptight law students Nick (Breckin Meyer), disgraced referee Owen (Cuba Gooding Jr.), and a recently reunited mother and daughter (Whoopi Goldberg and Lanei Chapman).

Berry noted, “The screwball gags come fast and furious, involving everything from a flying cow to Hitler's car, an eccentric roadside squirrel seller and a bus full of Lucille Ball impersonators.” Even though they all don’t get scored, enough of them do to help you forget the small aggravations elsewhere in the movie. For example, why does John Cleese have huge, white, false teeth? Why is Rowan Atkinson just playing Mr. Bean but with a strange foreign accent? And what’s with the incorrectly sentimental ending? Berry is right when he said, “Quibbles aside, this is nicely played by the ensemble cast (we'll forgive Cleese his dentures as his performance is deliciously nutty) and packed with lunacy that will keep you sniggering long after you've left the cinema.”

Former Saturday Night Live writer Andy Breckman keeps adding on to the jokes for this silly chase movie. It’s incredibly silly, but also gut-wrenchingly funny.

I heard about this movie from Doug Walker when he did his “Top 10 Favorite Comedies” list a long time ago. After seeing the movie, I can say that I give it a high recommendation. You will get a good laugh at watching this and I think everyone will love it. If you’re a fan of any of the cast members in this movie, then I highly suggest all of you see this movie.

Next week, I will end “Cuba Gooding Jr Month” with a movie that I found funny, although the critics may not agree.