Rat Race (2001)

A different way of telling a story

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

The basic premise is simple - six keys, one locker, and a race for $2 million dollars. The plot has eccentric casino owner Donald Sinclair (a top form Cleese with some rather odd false teeth!), pull together 8 random people whom he gets to race from Las Vegas to New Mexico for a prize of $2,000,000 whilst he takes bets on the outcome. And what a group he has assembled. Mix into that some utterly hammy acting, Nazi Barbies, a cow tied to a hot-air balloon, and a woman intent on selling squirrels, and you've found yourself in the middle of Rat Race. And it's actually not bad. Rowan Atkinson's Italian, with an intentionally ridiculous accent and the line "Oh, a race! ...I hope I win" is frankly a remix of Mr Bean, whilst John Cleese's casino owner is classic Fawlty with extra teeth. But both those characters are classics, and stirred into this film, they become still funnier.Many of the talents used in 'Rat Race' include Whoopi Goldberg, John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson (re-using many aspects of his Mr. Bean persona), Cuba Gooding, Jr., Breckin Meyer, Seth Green, and a plethora of others. There are a few surprises, and the movie takes a lot of unexpected, very funny turns. This is a screwball comedy which simply wants to make you laugh for a couple of hours. It is fluff, but fluff in the best possible sense. Quite enjoyable. I left the cinema with a smile on my face.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Not knowing the original, I say it's an excellent comedy as for itself, due to its wonderful cast and acting (except Mr. Atkinson's exaggerated Bean antics), inventive script, fast pace, and brilliant filming and editing. How refreshing is this film when compared to the worn out 'romantic comedy' predictable recipes! There are no leads, no sugarcoating, and no bland themes, but it's a small study on the greed lurking even in the nicest people. Young actors and film-makers should study this gem, first of all for facial expressions, comedic timing, and editing. We don't see too often those things done so intelligently and naturally, even though they are in such crazy situations. Special mentions for Jon Lovitz, Amy Smart, Lanei Chapman and John Cleese.

Rat Race is a screwball comedy about these people(Brecklin Meyer from Garfield,Seth Green,Whoppi Goldberg,Rowan Atkinson,Green's on screen friend and Goldberg's on screen daughter,Jon Lovitz,Katy Najamy,and Cuba Gooding JR) who have to go to Silver City New Mexico ,to receive 2 million dollars that's locked up in a locker. Of course since this is a comedy there is A lot of silliness going on including Cuba being lost in a desert as his taxi driver throw him out because Gooding Jr was a failed referee and he meets a bunch of Lucy impersonators,one of them was a transvestite,another where Goldberg and her on screen daughter met a squirrel lady and she sent them to a dead end,Green and his friend trying to stop the plane from leaving and Green's jeep getting tangled up in the signals,the list goes on and on. Rowan Atkinson was hilarious as an Italian who has a sleeping disorder and he always says Its a race I hope I win and he meets Wayne Knight who's a delivery man who carries a heart for a heart transplant patient that somehow gets lost,and even John Cleese is in this movie as the man who organized the race in the first place.Overall if you love a screwball comedy with plenty of laughs like Dumb & Dumber(Favourite comedy of all time) than check this out.

Cannot believe this movie is rated this low. This one deserves to be in the high 8s. We all cannot stop laughing even if we watch the movie over and over again. Awesome cast - John Clesse, Jon Lovitz, Seth Green, Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean), Wayne Knight (Seinfeld's Newman) were all so hilarious and so made for the role. Bringing such a cast of all time funny men along with Cuba Gooding Jr. would not have been easy but the Director managed to get the best out of them, never missing a beat. 10/10 imho.My other all time funny movies: 1. Gods must be crazy 2. Its a Mad Mad Mad world 3. Caddyshack 4. Monty Phyton and Holy Grail 5. History of the world / Blazzing Saddles. 6. National Lampoon Vacation 7. Coming to America 8. Ace Ventura / Dumb and Dummer 9. Friday 10. American Pie Series. 11. Hangover Series.Rat Race is super duper awesome. It is a must must must watch comedy movie. Again something is wrong with this IMDb rating. Borat, a comic for dummies scores 7.3. Go figure !!