...
~ ~ A relatively new addition to my ‘raise a smile’ collection is the 2001 comedy “Rat Race” by director Jerry Zucker (Airplane, The Naked Gun, Ghost) and writer Andy Breckman. (Creator of Sgt. Bilko)
We happened across it on the Sky Movie listings one evening while we were channel hopping ... Read review
Rat Raceought to be far less enjoyable than, in the end, it is. Studded with C-list stars, ... more
it has a heartless and derivative premise: a group of no-hopers racing across country for a stash of money for the amusement of a casino owner (John Cleese) and ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Rat Raceought to be far less enjoyable than, in the end, it is. Studded with C-list stars, ... more
it has a heartless and derivative premise: a group of no-hopers racing across country for a stash of money for the amusement of a casino owner (John Cleese) and ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Donald Sinclair owns the biggest snazziest flashiest high-rolling-est casino in Las ... more
Vegas. And to entertain some of his wealthiest patrons he's created the most original high stakes game that Sin City has ever seen! The contestants? Six teams. The...
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Outrageous stunts, hare-brained schemes and an all-star cast pack this return to the great ... more
ensemble chase comedy. Eccentric casino millionaire Donald Sinclair (John Cleese) invites a collection of random characters to race from Las Vegas to New Mexico for a prize of two million dollars.The contestants think it's far too easy to be true - and they're right - everything that could possibly go wrong does, and soon even the most straight-laced among them are lying, cheating and back-stabbing to get their paws on the cash. Meanwhile, Sinclair is organising another giant gambling game in which he lures his wealthy patrons to bet on the contestants and anything and everything else they can think of.The all-star cast includes the hilarious John Cleese, Whoopi Goldberg and Rowan Atkinson, and is directed by Jerry Zucker of the now-legendary Airplane and the Naked Gun series.
Matt Shore, flying for a small air-taxi firm, takes five passengers on a routine flight to ... more
the races and back. On their return journey, in the summer sky, lies death - a fate only avoided by instinct and Matt's sharp reactions. But which of the passengers is the target?
Comedy - Director: Tony Dow - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: John Challis, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Tessa Peake-Jones, Gwyneth Strong
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Advantages: You'll laugh your socks off! Disadvantages: Not a thing!
...~ ~ The plot of Rat Race is simple enough, and very loosely based on an old 1969 Stanley Kramer comedy called “It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World”.
A madcap Las Vegas casino owner called Donald P. Sinclair (John Cleese) has stuck $2 million in a left luggage locker down in New Mexico, and picks people at random who are playing the slot machines in the casino to compete in a wacky race. First to get to the locker gets to keep the €2 million! Of course, ... .../>
~ ~ What makes Rat Race such a truly hilarious movie is its crazy, off-beat humour and the literal galaxy of comedy stars who combine well together to make the plot work.
John Cleese is back to his comedic best as the loony casino owner, his slightly stuffy and overbearing English mannerisms contrasting brilliantly with his off-the-wall, zany humour. He has some wonderful one liners, from his opening introduction, “A meteor the size of ... more
~ ~ Do any of the rest of you have a few comedy movies in your DVD/Video collection that you keep on hand as a sure remedy for the “blues”, and that will always manage to cheer you up and bring a smile back to your face no matter how bleak and dismal your mood? I know that I certainly do. Some that spring immediately to mind include classics like “The Full Monty”, the old Scottish-based comedy “Local Hero”, the golf comedy “Caddyshack”, and any of the old BBC comedy series, “Fawlty Towers”.
~ ~ A relatively new addition to my ‘raise a smile’ collection is the 2001 comedy “Rat Race” by director Jerry Zucker (Airplane, The Naked Gun, Ghost) and writer Andy Breckman. (Creator of Sgt. Bilko) We happened across it on the Sky Movie listings one evening while we were channel hopping for a film that we would all enjoy, and laughed so long and so loud that I scanned the listings for days afterwards until I eventually managed to find it being repeated, so I could catch it on video. Since then I’ve invested all of £7.99 at Blackstar (blackstar.co.uk) to buy it on DVD, to get the full benefit of watching it on our excellent Philips home theatre system. (I’ll get around to reviewing it one of these days!)
~ ~ The plot of Rat Race is simple enough, and very loosely based on an old 1969 Stanley Kramer comedy called “It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World”. A madcap Las Vegas casino owner called Donald P. Sinclair (John Cleese) has stuck $2 million in a left luggage locker down in New Mexico, and picks people at random who are playing the slot machines in the casino to compete in a wacky race. First to get to the locker gets to keep the €2 million! Of course, being a casino owner, he has a hidden agenda, and is more than recouping his $2 million outlay by taking side bets on who will win the race from some of his high roller customers!
~ ~ What makes Rat Race such a truly hilarious movie is its crazy, off-beat humour and the literal galaxy of comedy stars who combine well together to make the plot work. John Cleese is back to his comedic best as the loony casino owner, his slightly stuffy and overbearing English mannerisms contrasting brilliantly with his off-the-wall, zany humour. He has some wonderful one liners, from his opening introduction, “A meteor the size of North Carolina is heading straight towards the earth”, to his retort when he is told that he simply can’t select people at random to take part in his crazy race. “I can do anything I like. I'm an eccentric”.
~ ~ The cast of “racers” is superb. You have Rowan Atkinson (Blackadder, Mr. Bean) as a weird Italian called Enrico Pollini, who’s command of the English language leaves something to be desired. Look out for a great one liner when he spots some cocktail sausages at a party. “I just love these little cock doggies”. Then you have Vera, (Whoopi Goldberg) who is visiting the casino to meet up with her long lost daughter Merril, (Lanei Chapman) who she gave up for adoption as a baby. (Both mother and daughter decide to participate) Cuba Gooding Jnr. plays an American Football referee called Owen Templeton, who is “on the run” after making a momentous blunder during a game, and is universally hated by the general public. (He followed up this good comedy part with an absolute stinker of a comedy movie called “Snow Dogs” the following year, by the way.) There’s Jon Lovitz (who starred for years in the hit comedy/satirical show on American TV, ‘Saturday Night Live’) as a regular family man called Randy Pear, who has great difficulty explaining to his wife and two kids why he wants to interrupt their long anticipated Las Vegas vacation to go chasing off across the country. And there are two brothers called Duane and Blaine Cody (Seth Green and Vince Vieluf) who between them hardly have enough brain cells to make up a passable IQ, and who can barely communicate with each other as a result of Blaine’s newly pierced tongue.
~ ~ You want to make sure that you watch this movie with an empty bladder, because some of the scenes will have you literally peeing yourself with laughter! Cuba Gooding Jnr. posing as a coach driver, and driving around a busload of Lucille Ball impersonators on their way to a convention. Jon Lovitz and his Jewish family ‘borrowing’ an old vintage car from a ‘Barbie’ museum, only to discover that it once belonged to Adolph Hitler. A woman at the roadside selling orphaned squirrels, and giving less than accurate directions to anyone who refuses to buy one from her. And watch out for the flying cows, and the hot-air balloons. I could go on and on giving you examples of the crazy humour in this side-splitting comedy, but to do so would spoil your enjoyment of the film. These few examples should give you some sort of idea what to expect though. Rat Race works on all sorts of levels, and has something that will appeal to most folk’s sense of humour. Best of all, the actors work well together, with nobody trying to hog the limelight or steal the show, despite them all being stars in their own right.
~ ~ Highly, highly recommended by the mad cabbie, and a movie that I’ll return to again and again when I want a good belly laugh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
DVD EXTRAS AND FEATURES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ ~ OK. I always find this the hard bit, because a lot of the ‘gobbledigook’ (technical specifications) don’t mean a hell of a lot to me. But for those of you who are interested in such things, I’ll include them anyways.
2.35:1 Anamorphic Wide Screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ ~ Not too sure what “anamorphic” means, but I like the wide screen bit, as I have a wide screen TV! And the colours, definition, and transfer onto disc all seem to have worked well, with no obvious shimmering of the picture or unrealistic hues and tones. Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound or alternatively Dolby 2.0 Surround Sound in either French or English. This movie isn’t a “Rambo” or “Triple X” type feature, that really makes use of all the different speakers on a home theatre system. But the sound clarity is very clear and not distorted, and the subwoofer and front and rear speakers kick into action from time to time. Certainly an improvement on the VHS tape I originally had the movie recorded on!
“Making Of Rat Race” Feature ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ ~ This lasts for around 20 minutes, and is broken up into various sub-categories like “The Set-Up”, “The Players”, and “On The Road”. There are some interesting interviews with both the actors and the film crew, and it gives you a bit of an inside look at how the movie took shape and was made.
Interview With The Director And Writer ~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ ~ Jerry Zucker (Director) and Andy Breckman (writer) talk briefly (about 10 minutes) about their different roles in the movie, how it was conceived, and what it is that makes it so funny. (In their opinion) An interesting insight into what made the movie tick.
Deleted Scenes ~~~~~~~
~ ~ Six scenes that didn’t quite make it to the final version of the movie, but all very funny in their own right, and introduced by the director Jerry Zucker. There’s also a series of “out-takes”, which are extremely humourous, and which have been set to music. One particular scene where actors Vince Vieluf and Seth Green repeatedly fluff their lines, and subsequently suffer from a fit of the giggles, is an absolute hoot!
Theatrical Trailer ~~~~~~~
~ ~ Just what it says. A trailer for the movie.
Scene Selection ~~~~~~~~
~ ~ This allows you to find your favourite part of the movie easily and simply, without having to fast-forward (or reverse) as you have to with a VHS tape.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rated PG-13 (Some mild sexual references, some bad language, and a wee bit of nudity)
Running Time - 112 minutes (of pure unadulterated humour)
Available BlackStar £7.99 (DVD) £4.99 (VHS) Amazon UK £14.39 (DVD) £5.99 (VHS)
Advantages: Brilliant fun and a fab cast! Disadvantages: None!
...in a long time - Rat Race. --- Cast --- Donald Sinclair - John Cleese.
Owen Templeton - Cuba Gooding Jnr.
Enrico Pollini - Rowan Atkinson. Vera Baker - Whoopi Goldberg.
Merrill Jennings - Lanei Chapman. Nick Schaffer - Breckin Meyer.
Duane Cody - Seth Green.
Blaine Cody - Vince Vieluf.
Tracey Faucet - Amy Smart.
Randy Pear - Jon Lovitz.
Beverly Pear - Kathy Najimy. Harold Grisham - Dave Thomas. Vicky - Brandy Ledford. --- Main Characters ... ...film, which is exactly what Rat Race is. As for the plotline, well, it's unlikely to say the least, can you really imagine a hotel manager popping $2 million into a locker and telling you to go and get it? But that's beside the point of this film. It's not meant to be based in reality. Have you ever seen a helicopter chasing a car down the highway? Thought not. You never guess which one will win the money, although you spend the whole film thinking, ...
damncoldnightdotnet 27.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Rat Race (DVD)
...the premise of the film, Rat Race. Set up by eccentric millionaire, John Cleese, six people selected at random from the casino are given the opportunity to race for a prize of $2,000,000 using both fair means and foul to ensure that they are the winners. This race is being followed closely by cleese's client millionaires, who it would seem, will bet on anything. THE CHARACTERS
There are two things which make this film as funny as it is; first is ... ...find themselves. The six competitors are all very recognisable actors (eg the treacherous employee from 'Jurassic Park' and Russell from 'Grace under Fire') and also include Cuba Gooding Jnr and Rowan Atkinson, who unfortunately is sporting a very poor hispanic accent from the Miriam Margoylees' school of foreign language (cf 'The Queen of Spain's Beard' from Blackadder II). Atkinson's part bears further mention. Pedictably he is still rather beanesque ...
Ophelia 10.10.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Rat Race (DVD)
Advantages: Funny, very funny Disadvantages: That awful ending - what were they thinking?
...schoolboy sense of humour, but Rat Race had me in stitches from start almost to finish.
A number of the reviews that I have read of this movie criticised it for portraying each of the contestants individually. Only at the outset and then again at the climax do we really see the contestants competing directly against one another, but this was not a problem for me. There were so many contestants – and so many bizarre things happening – ... ...able to speak properly.
Rat Race doesn’t really have a point or a deep meaning – it’s just an excuse to throw lots of funny people together and make lots of funny things happen. This does, of course, mean that it is rather an unsophisticated film and if you are looking for something intellectually stimulating then you should look elsewhere. The climax of the film is also dreadful. Throughout the film I was trying to think how the ...
LostWitness 23.07.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Rat Race (DVD)
Advantages: Lots of big name actors star in it, very funny, eccentric Disadvantages: The ending is a little cheesy
I think the one key word that overall describes this particular movie has to be eccentric... from start to end, eccentric! apart from the somewhat boring and possibly cringeworthy moral ending, that is... Yes this movie is all about eccentrics, from the main characters to the people they meet and the man who sparks off the story. That would be Donald Sinclair, an (you guessed it!) eccentric Las Vegas millionaire/billionaire casino owner who invites ... ...slot machines at the right time and win a lucky coin, to join them where he then lets them in on the fact that he has left a bag containing $2 million in a locker in a train station in Silver City, New Mexico, their all given a key to open that locker and the first person to get there and open it, again you guessed it, gets to keep the money. Now these people aren't stupid and at first seem pretty stunned and hesitant to believe that such an opportunity ...
IzzyS 10.06.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Rat Race (DVD)
Rat Race is a quirky little comedy which I didn’t know about, or had forgotten about until I saw it advertised in the Blockbuster Magazine. I read about it and it seemed just my type of thing, especially since it’s basically a re-make of Cannonball Run released in 1981 starring Burt Reynolds. Cannonball Run didn’t have great reviews or ratings but as a kid I loved it. It’s just a stupid film, and these are the kinda films ... ...made it all so fun. Rat Race is basically the same kinda thing, just an updated version with different actors. I can’t personally remember Rat Race being released in the UK Box Office, it’s one of those films which just seems to have hit the shelves of video shops in pole position which seemed to come from no where, not even a warning. That’s how it seemed to me anyway, maybe I’m on my own here, but it doesn’t seem to ...
GR-Design 29.07.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Rat Race (DVD)
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Advantages: Good music Disadvantages: Poor script.
com he did. He doesn?t really sparkle. He?s not overtly kooky as he was in RatRace and he is nowhere near the Oscar winning performance he did in Jerry Maguire.
The DVD does have some reasonable extras, if gospel choir music is your thing; there are eight extended musical sequences to enjoy. If not, you may like the 7 extended scenes (they were a little uninteresting in my opinion), as well as a theatrical trailer.
The trailer is actually rather good, and prompted me to buy the film in the first place.
The film is very ?samey?, just a rehashed version of Sister Act. If you like fully tuned ?feel good? films its not that bad. Have it on in the background on a cleaning day or a lazy Sunday afternoon, its that kind of film. ...
An eccentric casino owner named Donald Sinclair devises a race from Las Vegas to New Mexico with a prize of two million dollars. As soon as the race starts chaos and mayhem ensues...
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
PATHE DISTRIBUTION; 20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT, PATHE DISTRIBUTION; DELUXE VIDEO SERVICE - FOX
Release date
04/11/2002, 08/07/2002
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
P 9033 DVD, P 9033 RDVD
Barcode
5060002830949, 5060002830970
Languages
Main Language
English
Subtitle Language
English
Hearing Impaired Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Making Of Documentary, Interview With Director Jerry Zucker And Writer Andy Breckman, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, Theatrical Trailer
Aspect Ratio
2.35 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
DVD Description
An all-star cast proves just how far people will go for the chance to win $2 million in Jerry Zucker's RAT RACE. In the tradition of Zucker's AIRPLANE and NAKED GUN 2-1/2: THE SMELL OF FEAR, this film features wild chase scenes, slapstick comedy, sight gags, impossible situations, and zany characters. Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz, Rowan Atkinson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Seth Green, and Breckin Meyer star as the lucky winners of special tokens in the slot machines at a Las Vegas casino. Casino owner John Cleese informs them that they are invited to participate in a race: The first of them to reach Silver City, New Mexico, will receive the $2 million cash prize. To make things interesting, there are no rules, which leads to the commandeering of a bus, a run-in with Nazis, the use of a high-speed experimental car, and revenge on a cheating boyfriend--And that's just the beginning. In the meantime, the participants are really part of a bigger plan: high rollers are betting on which of them will win the cash. Watch for brief appearances by Kathy Bates, Dean Cain, and Wayne Knight. Also starring Amy Smart, Kathy Najimy, Lanai Chapman, and Vince Vieluf.
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![The Rat Race Blues [Us Import] - Gigi Gryce](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/89843716.jpg "The Rat Race Blues [Us Import] - Gigi Gryce")
