60’s slapstick hadn’t quite run it’s course…
At the turn of the millennium, the idea of the ultra-rich pulling the masses’ strings for their own amusement wasn’t exactly fresh – then, as now, it’s almost easier to laugh than to cry about it. Jerry Zucker’s (Airplane!, Ghost) gleefully ridiculous ode to 60s slapstick mayhem leans hard into the absurd, delivering a deftly crafted series of escalating gags that range from rocket cars to a Barbie-doll Hitler (courtesy of Jon Lovitz, ‘natch).
Whether it’s Seth Green’s car troubles or Cuba Gooding Jr. conducting a busload of Lucille Ball impersonators, the film doesn’t hold back on its commitment to pure silliness. John Cleese leads the charge as a grinning tycoon (with a keyboard smile so fake it’ll burn your retinas) who sets a group of strangers loose on the ultimate no-rules race for a $2 million prize. From Rowan Atkinson’s narcoleptic Italian tourist to Whoopi Goldberg’s estranged mother-daughter duo, the ensemble cast leans hard into the mad mad madness.
Borrowing the spirit of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Cannonball Run, Rat Race doesn’t care if every joke lands – so long as something, anything, keeps the momentum going. Not all of its humour has aged gracefully, but the film’s sheer energy and shameless absurdity still hit the mark when you’re in the mood to watch good actors get unapologetically silly. You can tell they had fun making this.