HTF REVIEW: "Rat Race" (1 Viewer)

[Peter Avellino]

Humor is completely subjective. I thought Rat Race was absolutely hysterical, one of my favorite pictures of the year. During the Hitler scene, I found myself literally choking with laughter. I do not exaggerate. Of course, I concede that this is not in any way a good argument in favor of the film. It's not like someone is going to say, "You thought it was funny? My God, you're right! It was!"

That having been said, and also saying that I am a huge Blake Edwards fan, I don't see what The Great Race has to do with Rat Race. Is Rat Race set in the 1900s? Are there Professor Fate and Great Leslie-type characters? Is there a Henry Mancini-type score? Does it open with a title card reading "For Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy"? Oh wait a second, I get it. They both have the word Race in the title. This reminds me of the time Warner Bros. tried to prevent the release of the Marx Bros. comedy A Night in Casablanca because of the word Casablanca in the title.

And while it's not exactly Sunset, it's hardly one of Edwards's best either. It's also, at roughly 2:40, one of the longest comedies ever made. This is all my opinion of course. Maybe Rat Race is actually a ripoff of A Night in Casablanca. Maybe The Great Race is. No, wait a second. It's an "hommage" to Laurel and Hardy. Which is, of course, allowed. Coming up next, we'll be discussing how A Beautiful Mind is just a ripoff of the old Preston Sturges comedy The Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend.

I hear that they're doing an authorized remake of "10" with Martin Lawrence. Could we maybe get upset over that? Does anyone remember Million Dollar Mystery? What exactly are we arguing about again?

 

[Matthew Chmiel]

Does anyone remember Million Dollar Mystery?

Last time I checked, I thought we were all trying to forget Million Dollar Mystery.

 

[Jason Merrick]

My wife and I laughed hysterically along with the majority of people in the packed theater we were in when we saw Rat Race. This movie was great, can't wait to own it so I can give myself a pick-me-up with it any time I want.

 

[Rachael B]

Ron, you should of bought a squirrel.......

 

[Seth Paxton]

Thanks Mike but you know what.

"Discovering" The Great Race for all of us is about worthless. I know at least half the participants in this thread are very familiar with both Mad World and Great Race.

Rat Race has only one thing in common with Great Race...the word Race.

And Matt proceeded to tell you that he HAS seen both films, yet you went ahead and told him when he could see it so he wouldn't be a hypocrite. (edit - actually Matt was not clear about The Great Race, he didn't mention it at all, so as far as you know he has seen it and loved it.)

Rat Race had been dealing with the IAMMMMW comparisions before it even hit the theaters. NO ONE (except you) has compared it to The Great Race.

Also, btw, The Great Race is actually pretty well received around these parts, as best as I can gather. I also enjoy it quite a bit. I think many members here have been pushing to get a good DVD out of The Great Race for some time now.

And while there are some similarities to Mad World in things like Cannonball Run, Rat Race is the only one that almost follows it exactly.

For everyone else, I'm on the fence about a purchase. I liked it but didn't love it. However, here are 2 things that did make me laugh:

The truck "chasing" Meyer on the tower at the airport.

When Whoopi is in the rocket car and asks the spokesman "How do you turn it on?" (not sure why that one gets me, but it does)

 

[Scott-C]

Just saw this flick tonight for the first time. Oh how I wanted to like it, and yet...it just didn't do it for me. I really laughed at the "Nazi car" scene and chuckled a few other times; otherwise, I just felt that the attempts at humor were so overdone, almost as though the director was trying to force the audience to laugh.

I may give it one more chance, however. Sometimes I appreciate the movie more on the second time around and my wife wants to see this one. We'll see...

 

[Trace Downing]

This film has a special place for me, and I liked it...but only for contextual purposes.

I saw it in the theater on Sep. 18. Exactly one week after the WTC/Pent attacks. With 24 hr news coverage, the horror, the real questions of who did it, and why, just did me in, just as I'm sure that it did the same for everyone at that time. All we saw for that week was coverage of the attack's aftermath, as the casualty numbers rose too slowly.

My friend and I decided to see a movie, we just didn't know which one, and we chose this one at the theater. It was just what the doctor ordered. It was light, funny (if forced at times) and took our minds off of current events for 2 hours. It cheered us both up, and we were thankful for it. I bought it, and invited her over to watch it again.

It's like any piece of historical reference that takes you back. The first time I fell in love, and realized it, Rick Astley's "Never gonna give you up". was on the radio. Now that's not a song I would normally like, but whenever I hear it on the one hit wonder hour, it takes me back.

Any other time, I would probably see this as the trying-too-hard-to-be-funny drivel that it really is, but Rat Race was there (at least for me) at just the right time. For that, I can't look at it objectively.

 

[Eric Paavola]

The funniest scene, for me, was when Kimberly, the daughter of Jon Lovitz, was in the car and said that she had to go to the bathroom. And then when she told her father that she didn't have to pee that it was the other thing she had to do, Jon told her to "hold it".
When she then said that she couldn't because she was "praire dogging it" I was laughing so hard I had tears and had to stop the movie until I could stop laughing. The visual, for me, was great.

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

All I can say about this movie is two words: WASTED POTENTIAL. All these great comedic talents were on the screen doing nothing funny! Wait, add two more words: NO PAYOFF. I mean... it seemed like there was a lot of funny stuff being set up, but then it never paid off. For instance, Cleese's big fake choppers. NO PAYOFF! I laughed 5 times during the movie, and that was mostly at the physical comedy. And FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, do we have to put Smashmouth's ALL-STAR in every damn movie that comes out now? Is it really necessary? I'm not saying I hate the song or the band, but... Mystery Men... Shrek... Rat Race... the list goes on! STOP IT ALREADY!
That being said, it isn't a bad disc and some of the extras are fun. But hey, what do I know? I thought BUBBLE BOY was the funniest movie of the year, so my opinion shouldn't count for much.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Definitely a good zany rental quality movie. No need to make the comparions with earlier films of its ilk, just reflect on whether you were entertained by it. I know I was when I saw it in the theater last year.

 

[Carlo_M]

Okay Jason, okay, I'll rent this one, I promise!

 

[Will K]

Watched this one last night. I didn't really expect to enjoy it but I found myself laughing much of the time, particularly with the "squirrel" sequence and the absurd sight of a cow dangling from a hot air balloon. I thought the Hitler/Nazi jokes were a bit on the troublesome side, but all in all a fun ride that works up until the last ten minutes or so. The ending was pretty lame.
On a side note, I glad someone else noticed that Smash Mouth's "All-Star" seems to pop up in every other movie. That should be a little more embarrassing than anything.

 

[Shelley Douglas]

Well, as usual, sometimes I enjoy a movie for myself, and sometimes I enjoy a movie for my grandsons. I enjoyed this movie thoroughly for my grandsons. They are 7 and 5. And they, and I, watched this in the theaters, and now on DVD, and we laugh till we have tears in our eyes every time.
It is a fun ride. It is not high art. I don't think, quite frankly, that it ever intended to be.
I have the DVD. I also have some Bruce Campbell DVDs. We'll take it out on rainy days.
It's no Citizen Kane....But it's no "Bats" either.
I think my point is that sometimes we take ourselves a lee-tle tooo seriously...and over analyze to the point of the absurd.
Sometimes a goofy movie....is just a goofy movie.
My DVD Collection