Rat Race
Full Price Feature
"What! Full Price Feature?!" Believe me, I am as shocked as you are. I fully expected to come out of that theatre with a couple of amusing moments, smiling maybe, nut not much more. I can't give away what was funny about the movie without ruining it, so I will have to rely on detailing our reaction to the film. Not only did I laugh my freakin' butt off (as did my three very diverse companions) pretty much the whole time (after a mite slow beginning), but the four of us were still cracking up, loudly, walking out of the theatre and into the car and most of the drive home. We recollected all our favorite moments, which were legion, and laughed afresh. It was the simple, unaffected laughter of delight in simple, easy pleasure. Guffawing, if you will. Now that's funny! Remember in the date montage in Naked Gun when Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley come out of Platoon clutching their guts and laughing? That was us, except instead of Platoon, it was Rat Race! So, with my pricing schema of dollar value for entertainment received, this is indeed a Full Price Feature. I want to see it again!
Now if course I have built it up too much, but I have peeked at ratings on other sites and they seem to agree. What looks like a disjointed, multi-storyline wackofest is actually a beautifully shot, action-packed comedy with a little something for everyone. Some of the jokes telegraph themselves a mile away, and a lot of people seem to crash vehicles through fences, but for some reason, it all works! My favorite shot, which I do not want to give away, literally had me hopping up in down in my seat, even though it was apparent what would happen and how it would be, it was the execution that was so hilarious. It was like a cartoon come to life, in a good way. If you need your humor to be dry and verbose, well, you weren't honestly expecting that after looking at those creepy big-head-big-hand posters, were you? I hope you like those images because they also are the main visual crux of the official movie site and the opening credits.
The characters are a diverse group of actors and comedians who have very little character interaction outside of their teams in the race, yet the sense of working together to a common comedic goal is still felt. A good story involves the dynamics between people, but this story can rely on the over-reaching theme of greed to unite the people who are otherwise apart on screen. But the miniature teams of one or 2 or 4 all have their own magic as well. It's the details, however, that really make it work. I wish I could give away things but I fear the trailer has already done some of that for me. I never would have seen it if not for the previews, so I guess it was a necessary evil. I now wish to see the original film upon which this one was based, It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, to see if it compares.
Bizarre situation exacerbated by wicked machination with reincorporation and huge reaction equals comedy. There's slapstick, situational humor, subtle physicality, tumbling disaster, Darwin-award behavior, good natured humor, mistaken identity, peril, insanity, over-the-top, observational humor, corn-pone chuckles, surreal visual gags, and even an homage to a classic Lucy episode - whatever you like, they got it! It's a Zucker film. So go get it!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These reviews (c) 2001 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to forward but just credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks. cinerina@flash.net Check out previous reviews at: http://www.cinerina.com http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com - the Online Film Critics Society http://www.hsbr.net/reviews/karina/ - Hollywood Stock Exchange Brokerage Resource http://www.mediamotions.com http://www.capitol-city.com
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