Rat Race" -- What a Mad Mad Mad Mad World by Homer Yen (c) 2001
Over the past decade or so, Director Jerry Zucker's name has become synonymous with over-the-top comedies. He brought us "Airplane" in the 80s and "The Naked Gun" in the 90s. Thoroughly silly yet frequently funny, these screwball comedies provided audiences with a bellyful of giggles through snappy dialogue and a flood of sight gags. In his latest effort, "Rat Race," we see that he still knows how to, more or less, appeal to our childish sense of humor. White it isn't as hilarious or as inspired as his previous work, you'll still find something that will make you grin.
You might smile at its crude sense of humor, such as when a courier who is transporting a human heart becomes overly curious about his cargo. You might giggle at the women who pose as models in order to steal a land-racer. And, it's hard not to laugh at the inane sequence involving an out-of-control car, a runaway hot-air balloon, and a cow. I'll just leave that up to your own imagination. One can only imagine what THAT storyboard must have looked like.
These poor souls (and several others) wind up in such absurd situations because of a bizarre race in which they are competing. Sponsored by an unctuous tycoon (John Cleese with teeth like a piano keyboard), he furnishes competitors with locker keys. Starting in Las Vegas, everyone is told to make their way to a tiny train station in Silver City, NM where it will open up a locker. There, they shall find a duffel bag containing $2 million, and the first to reach it will win it all. Why does he do this? As he explains, "I can do anything. I'm eccentric!"
Ready, Set, Go!
"Rat Race" features an ensemble of fairly well-known actors who all get a chance to flex their comedic muscles. Most spirited and particularly funny was Rowan Atkinson who is bug-eyed, walks around flailing his gangly arms, and seems like he's desperately emulating Roberto Benigni. He's obviously the most gung ho of the bunch. Sadly, he's narcoleptic and falls asleep at the most inopportune moments. Also likeable was Cuba Gooding Jr., who is forced to steal a chartered bus filled with Lucille Ball look-alikes. When the bus trip begins to experience a few hiccups and the scores of impersonators wail out the Lucy cry of "Waaaaahhhhh," not only is it hilarious (for those who are familiar with "I Love Lucy") but you'll develop a newfound respect for chartered bus drivers. In another memorable segment, thanks to great comic timing by Jon Lovitz, you would have never known that Adolph Hitler could be so funny. The silliness of this film actually grows on you, and it's a nice diversion from the recent spate of gross-out comedies.
"Rat Race" works best when the sight gags are in progress. Unfortunately, there is a lot of down time. For example, the first 30 minutes is just a drawn out introduction of the eventual racers. Who cares about that when the film is all about the wild situations? Meanwhile, the ending takes an absurd detour away from its beloved sense of madcapped buffonery and veers towards an ill-advised attempt at a schmaltzy, feel-good ending. If you want to participate in "Rat Race," come late, leave early, and enjoy the ride.
Grade: B- S: 1 out of 3 L: 0 out of 3 V: 1 out of 3
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