The main difficulty in trying to update 1962's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is that if the former succeeded (and in many sequences it did not), it was due to the larger-than-life personalities of performers like Buddy Hackett, Sid Caesar, Jonathan Winters, Phil Harris, Ethel Merman and Spencer Tracy. The plot was choppy and disconnected, and the screenplay appears to have been written with a laugh track in mind; but all of that was merely a framework for the actors to do what they did best. Serendipity had its part, too, as Spencer Tracy's pained appearance -- he was ill at the time of shooting -- perfectly complemented the character (in much the same way as Gary Cooper's health problems during the shooting of High Noon suited the characterization of Will Kane).
Sadly, however, Rat Race took the earlier film's conceit and plays it out with a cast of largely B-team journeymen comedy actors, with the exceptions of John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson, the latter providing the only reliable sight-gags as an Italian with narcolepsy. What the new film provides that World did not is heart; as farcical as the proceedings are, the two love-interest stories have some real sentiment -- something noticeably missing from Stanley Kramer's blockbuster.
The earlier film had Las Vegas as the destination, so it seems predetermined that the new film uses that as a starting point (what is missing is authentic-looking footage of the Southwest, as that region's singular look does not occur anywhere in Canada where production took place), with a contrived bit of business to ensure that the race remains largely automobile-based and therefore under the control of the characters. Many of the set pieces from World make cameo appearances here, including the requisite characters-veering-off-the-road-and-over-a-cliff and the rental of some questionable air transportation by one of the characters; John Powell's score, though, cannot compare to Ernest Gold's Oscar-nominated World music -- even though it features what will probably be the Baha Men's last charting single.
The film is not a disaster, by any means; perhaps more than anyone, director Zucker (Airplane, et al.) knows that if you throw enough jokes at a wall, at least a few are likely to stick. But Rat Race is busy, loud and long (at just short of two hours, it would have been better to tighten it up by a half hour), and a bit of a disappointment for viewers old enough to remember the busy, loud and long original.
(Side note: Zucker's two children appear in a hotel scene featuring a sleeping Atkinson)
Film Synopsis: A very loose remake of the classic multi-star comedy It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), this madcap comedy is directed by Jerry Zucker, one third of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker comedy team and director of Ghost (1990). John Cleese stars as an eccentric casino owner who devises a contest pitting six teams against each other in a race to claim two million dollars from a locker in New Mexico. The competitors are Owen (Cuba Gooding Jr., who ends up driving a bus full of Lucille Ball imitators, a foreigner (Rowan Atkinson) who hitches a ride in an organ donor vehicle, and a recently reunited mother and daughter (Whoopi Goldberg and Lanei Chapman) who anger a "squirrel lady" (Kathy Bates) -- much to their regret. There are also two con artist brothers (Seth Green and Vince Vieluf), the upright Nick (Breckin Meyer), who gets a lift from cute but psychotic pilot Tracy (Amy Smart), and the eccentric Pear family, headed up by Jon Lovitz.
Technical
| Video: |
Widescreen 2.35:1 (Anamorphic) |
| Audio: |
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Surround [CC]
FRENCH: Dolby Digital Surround |
| Subtitles: |
English, Closed Captions |
| Chapters: |
15 |
(Note: The release date for this DVD was recently postponed by one week, to January 29th)
Although the information originally distributed stated a 1.85:1 ratio, the picture is presented in a very wide 2.35:1 widescreen with anamorphic coding for 16:9 TVs. Visually, the framing suggests that a very slight amount of edge cropping was done during the transfer; if so it is well within tolerance for monitor overscan, and is not noticeable from a viewer's perspective.
Colors are relatively strong and solid, although the film displays some noticeable grain, particularly during darker or red-tinged scenes. The film grain appears to be on the original negative, and the transfer seems flawless in its transposition from film to video master.
Audio is satisfying, and the surround channels get a surprising amount of workout in some of the action scenes, mostly for ambient effects. The audio is well-balanced, neither too harsh nor bass-heavy, and although it is by no means a demo disc it serves the film well.
The DVD is packaged in a standard Amaray keepcase, and is accompanied by a single sheet insert presenting the chapter listings.
Supplements
- Featurette: The Making of Rat Race (22:24)
- Deleted Scenes:
- High Roller (1:18)
- Monopoly (0:36)
- Lucys (1:12)
- Ricky Bus (1:08)
- Moving House (3:22)
- Talking Cow (0:55)
- Gag Reel (3:46)
- Exclusive Interview with director Jerry Zucker and writer Andy Breckman (8:16)
- Jerry and Andy call the actors:
- Vince Vieluf
- Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- John Cleese
- Seth Green
- Jon Lovitz
- Lanai Chapman
- Breckin Meyer
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Amy Smart
- Wayne Knight
- Paul Rodriguez
- Charlotte Zucker
- Rowan Atkinson
- The Giggles (Outtake) (5:06)
- Theatrical Trailer (2:31)
The DVD includes a fun complement of extras. The most unique is the section entitled "Jerry and Andy call the actors," an audio-only supplement in which the director and writer actually telephone thirteen of the stars at their homes. Each call runs in the neighborhood of eight to ten minutes, and -- since the calls were not only unscripted, but unexpected -- each presents a highly entertaining audio snapshot of the stars when they're "off-duty;" Vince Vieluf, for example, answered the phone as he was doing laundry. We'd like to see this sort of thing on other DVDs.
There is a four-minute gag reel included in the set, with some amusing moments. Seperate from it, and given its own supplement chapter, "The Giggles" is an extended five-minute outtake in which the principals began laughing and could not get themselves back under control; Zucker let the camera run for as long as there was film remaining. At one point, one of the actors can be heard suggesting to Zucker to "save this one for the DVD."
Also included is a standard fluffy making-of featurette running the usual twenty-two minutes (half an hour when broadcast with commercials), a theatrical trailer, and a filmed eight-minute commentary from the director and writer, in lieu of a feature-length audio commentary.
