| RAT RACE |
2001 - USA
Director: Jerry Zucker - Reviewed by Dan 
Before we begin, let me preface this rant by saying that I liked Rat Race. The friends I saw it with, however, felt their intelligence had been mortally wounded by this IQ lowering gag-fest and will
forever mourn the passing of the two hours spent watching it. So, in memory of those two
hours (and despite the fact that I'm awarding it five slices), I'm going to talk about why
Rat Race is bad. Really, really, very, very bad.
On my way downtown to see this movie, I saw a bumper sticker that read "Stupidity Kills, But Not Enough." In the cartoon universe of Rat Race, lots of big stars get a little screen time to act like Darwin Award nominees. In silly flicks like this, however, nobody ever dies. The premise isn't new: A Madcap Race for the Cash!! Watch greedy idiots subvert each other! Think It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World with a facelift and a dash of There's Something About Mary. Within minutes, it's clear that the normal laws of reality (gravity, or mortality for instance) don't have to apply. To drive the point home, in less than two minutes time, computerized cardboard cutouts in the opening credits depict the complete depth of every character in the film and then briefly spill right over into the live action. Right then, it's clear that Rat Race is constructed for laffs. Great BIG LAFFS! Not Laughs of realization hard won from the exploration of the deep inner psyche of realistic characters, but half-hammered on a Friday night finger-pointing laughs. Rat Race was sold this way and it delivers. There truly is somebody for everybody to laugh directly at in this movie. Turn off your brain and there's not a moment of self-reflection required. You can point and laugh for two-hours at some of the dumbest and most outrageous antics to be seen on the screen this summer. John Cleese, as a gambling obsessed casino owner, steals the show. Rowan Atkinson's narcoleptic foreigner is hilariously strange in an adorable but "don't-get-too-close-now" kind of way. Whoopi, as a doting mother even makes a break for three-dimensions when she first meets her long-lost hyper-uptight corporate daughter. But the script quickly slaps her silly again. I was outright disappointed by the ending. It's not a cop out more than it's an apology for exploiting greed-for-laughs. Escapist fast-food cinema like this should always show us the money. (Sorry, Cuba.) I think we all deserve a sly twist and a wink as Spencer Tracy rides into the sunset with the cash in the trunk. A personal rant—the band that sells themselves out for another yet again cameo is surely on the same road to stardom that made Aerosmith the featured artist of Disney's Rockin' Rollercoaster. Look for them on the next K-Tel compilation: Rockin' Naughts! I digress. It's cheesy, over-the-top and two-dimensional, but Rat Race is still darn funny—especially for those of us that suppress an eternal adolescent inside. |
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