Rat Race (2001)

3 out of 4

Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Lanei Chapman, John Cleese, Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding Jr., Seth Green, Jon Lovitz, Breckin Meyer, Kathy Najimy, Amy Smart, Vince Vieluf, Kathy Bates, Wayne Knight, Dave Thomas

Director: Jerry Zucker

Time: 105 mins

It's been a long time since Hollywood came up with a star-studded comedy of the sort they used to do twenty to thirty years ago. Films like It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (which Rat Race is a homage to and a remake of) and the Cannonball Run series featured all types of famous (and not-so-famous) actors, comedians, Oscar-winners, and has-beens. Rat Race may not boast A-list star power, but it does have no less than three Oscar-winners (Bates, Goldberg and Gooding Jr) and well-known comedic faces like Atkinson (from TV's Mr Bean), Knight (Seinfeld), Lovitz (Saturday Night Live) and Cleese (Monty Python). Backed by Jerry Zucker, who directed a string of cult comedies like Airplane and Top Secret in the 80s, Rat Race represents a funny, frantic farce that will leave you with a smile on your face.

Rat Race mirrors the story in It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World by following a group of disparate (and desperate) people as they race each other to find a large sum of money. We have disgraced football referee Owen Templeton (Cuba Gooding Jr), recently reunited mother and daughter Vera Baker (Whoopi Goldberg) and Merrill Jennings (Lanei Chapman), scheming brothers Duane (Seth Green) and Blaine Cody (Vince Vieluf), greedy Randy Pear (Jon Lovitz), his wife Bev (Kathy Najimy) and their kids, and Italian Enrico Pollini (Rowan Atkinson). They're challenged by rich Las Vegas casino owner Donald Sinclair (John Cleese) to find $2m hidden somewhere in Silver City, New Mexico. Along the way, our participants meet up with all sorts of weird and kooky characters, including a slightly crazy squirrel seller (Kathy Bates), a helicopter pilot (Amy Smart) with a two-timing boyfriend, and a medical aide (Wayne Knight) transporting a heart for a transplant. Their adventures include crashing a World War II Veterans' gathering, partaking in a land speed record attempt, and avoiding a runaway hot-air balloon with a dangling cow. If all this sounds over the top, it is, but the more important question is: who will find the $2m first?

While pretty much everyone in the entire cast pulls wild faces and becomes involved in silly hijinks, there are enough funny scenes in the film to have you cackling the majority of the way. Highlights include Jon Lovitz and his family stopping at a Barbie museum that is not exactly devoted to the well-known doll, the fate of the heart that Wayne Knight transports, and Cuba Gooding Jr's troubles with a bus full of Lucille Ball afficionados. The plot is not very original, of course, but it does provide the platform for a fairly entertaining film. The fact it frequently intercuts between the various plot threads means it doesn't stay still for too long, either.

With such an ensemble cast, it's hard to single out anyone for special attention. However, the scenes with Jon Lovitz were funnier than most, and Rowan Atkinson's turn at an Italian with a sleeping disorder brought back memories of his Mr Bean. Cuba Gooding Jr is also good as the referee who has trouble deciphering someone's gender. Amy Smart and Breckin Meyer reprise their partnership from Road Trip, and Seth Green continues his comedic arc following memorable parts in the Austin Powers films. Less successful are Sister Act graduates Whoopi Goldberg and Kathy Najimy. Whoopi, in particular, seems to have fallen into her post-Color Purple daze when she churned out unfunny works like Jumpin Jack Flash and Burglar. Finally, look for a cameo from TV superman Dean Cain.

As the summer movie season winds down, one often finds the studio's dregs opening in the barren weeks of August. Surprisingly, some of the better films in the past four months have opened during this normally dry period. Rush Hour 2 and The Others have defied the early and mid-summer trend towards mediocrity, and to that rarefied list can be added Rat Race. It's not a classic comedy by any means, but it has a decent share of laughs and, best of all, it will leave you feeling upbeat.

(c) Joe Wong (19 August 2001)