Rat Race (2001)

Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz, Rowan Atkinson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart, and John Cleese
Director: Jerry Zucker

Rating: PG-13

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Review Posted: 8.20.01

Spoilers: Minor

Rating: 7/10

By Stephen.

It's not the perfect summer comedy, but it's sure to make two hours of your life worthwhile and enjoyable. Rat Race, the comeback of Jerry "Airplane" Zucker, is not so much a remake, but similar to what Planet of the Apes was -- a kind of re-telling of the original idea, in a sense (in this case, It's A Mad Mad Mad World). Make something of that if you want, I don't care. Rat Race isn't original, but it keeps coming up with fun and outrageous situations and consequences for the characters involved.

The plot is easy and straight-to-the-point. A group of people go on a race from Las Vegas, Nevada to Silver City, New Mexico. Why? Shit, whoever gets there first is $2 million dollars richer! These people, selected at random (you'll find out how when you see it), are all kind of down-on-their-luck. What's better than an opportunity to get some hard cash?! Nothing, exactly. "There are no rules," exclaims John Cleese, the richest man in Las Vegas who also heads a large hotel there. He's the man insinuating this fantastic $2 million race. "The only rule is that there are no rules." Sounds easy, right? Well, once these people get on their way, it turns out it's not what they thought.

Rat Race manages to make you laugh here and there, put a smile on your face throughout and get you involved with the story personally (since money is such a hot prospect and all, it's hard not to care about it and who gets it, bla bla bla). The things I laughed at most: Jon Lovitz in Hitler's car (followed by an outrageously funny speech) and what preceded it (something that involves leaning out a car's window), Seth Green's journey all the way to Silver City, Rowan Atkinson's encounter with a heart transplant and the incident in a train. Rat Race also manages to surprise. There are some twists and turns. It's refreshing, because a plot like this can easily get lost in comedic hell (don't ask me how, I can't back it up, but it sounds intriguing).

The weak aspect of the movie is the believability and its ending. To criticize believability in this movie would be insane, since the whole movie is basically just there to entertain you and not make sense in any way. However, some of the situations here are pretty outrageous and are simply not possible. For example: A heart transplant surviving in the desert, an airport dish sustaining and pulling up a heavy Ford pick-up truck, a man jumping right into an oncoming train and holding on, a balloon able to sustain the weight of two men and a cow, bla bla bla. Surely, these things aren't possible, but it's all here for the sake of comedy. And that's okay, I guess, but I think it's worth mentioning how over-the-top and unbelievable some situations were.

As for the ending, man, what a cheat! I thought this movie wouldn't cop out like other ones do in terms of "who gets it all in the end," but it didn't come to that. The entire ending felt like a re-shoot (even though I heard none ever took place). Even though it was a nice gesture towards the unfortunate children of the world, it nevertheless was out of context and didn't have the senseless and raunchy attitude that was Rat Race. Everything comes down to the ending... when it should feel satisfying, it doesn't. And, when it shouldn't feel satisfying, it does (the tragic end in American Beauty).

Anyway, Rat Race is fun. The characters are important here, however. Because some characters you care for and others you don't. It depends what situations they are in. For example, I didn't care about the following characters because I didn't enjoy their journey to Silver City and how it turned out, respectively: Cuba Gooding Jr. in a bus full of Lucy wanna-be's (which reminds me, he's chased down the desert road by the mad crowd of Lucy's, then it cuts to John Lovitz and his family and back to Cuba's character lying in a field of horses and whatnot -- it left me feeling that something was cut before that and how he got there), Whoopi Goldberg and her on-screen daughter, Amy Smart (who, by the way, played this really crazy and psychotic female pilot) accompanying Breckin Meyer.

In closing, let me just say that Rat Race is fun entertainment for two hours, but is nevertheless plagued by little flaws -- the biggest one being the ending. The plot is fun, overall, mainly because it doesn't stick to rules, which makes way for surprises here and there. Sadly, there are some characters I didn't really care for, but the one's that did care for make up for it. I guess that's it then...

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