Rat Race [M]

Billionaire Donald Sinclair gives six randomly chosen guests of his Vegas casino the chance to win 2 million dollars in cash. All they have to do is race to Silver City New Mexico and collect the money. Are there any rules? Just one: there are no rules. 

A silly, crass, and sometimes tasteless comedy Rat Race, nonetheless stands up as a classic in my repertoire. I used to love this movie when I was younger and I still love it to this day. It’s not a film that you can watch over and over again, but it’s certainly a movie that I can come back to once in a while. Armed with comedy of all kinds, memorable characters, and a very funny script, Rat Race is a great movie, light and perfect if you just want a laugh. 

Billionaire Donald Sinclair gives six randomly chosen guests of his Vegas casino the chance to win 2 million dollars in cash. All they have to do is race to Silver City New Mexico and collect the money. Are there any rules? Just one: there are no rules. 

Without a doubt, this is a movie that is moved along solely by its characters. Aside from the “eccentric” Donald Sinclair we have a group of competitors made up of a cautious lawyer, a Jewish family, a disgraced referee, two dim-witted brothers, a workaholic daughter and her newly discovered mother, and a narcoleptic Italian tourist. And, as the movie is primarily character based, the performances from all those involved were just hysterical! It’s almost impossible to pick a favourite. 

An element that is equally as important as the cast’s performances is the screenplay and script. The film is littered with all types of humour, some of which can seem rather tasteless, but it all culminates in this wonderful ride that is one catastrophe after another. We find ourselves laughing at jokes and gags that are crude, sexual, racist, sexist, political, and practically take a poke at everyone from those working in customer service to the fat cats upstairs who can buy half of Wall Street. It’s not always the cleverest of humour, but every little crassness and innuendo is a part that makes up this wonderfully funny movie. 

Starring Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese, Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding Jr., Seth Green, Jon Lovitz, Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart, Kathy Najimy, Vince Vieluf, Wayne Knight, Kathy Bates, Lanai Chapman, Dave Thomas, Gloria Allred, and Smash Mouth, Rat Race is a fantastically funny movie packed with humour of all sorts as well as suspense, romance, tension, and action. It’s one of those movies that stays with you and I’m very proud to have it in my collection.