And the landspeed record goes to... (Rat Race (DVD))

Member Name: freespirit1402

Product:	Rat Race (DVD)
Date:	31/07/02 (75 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Incredibally funny, No complicated plot to follow

Disadvantages: Slightly corny Hollywoody ending

Crashing at a friends house while the driveway is being reconcreted. Bad back not helped by camp bed! To pass the evening we rented rat race, talk about funny!

Synopsis

Whilst visiting the casino and playing with the one armed bandit (he never complains!) nine people find a gold coin amongst their winnings. Reporting to guest reception they are told they are entered in a race. Each is given a key and the location of a locker containing two million dollars. the rules are...there are no rules!

Our intrepid voyagers set off, stopping at nothing to be first in the race to grab the cash. But who will get there first...and once that have it is this the end of the story?

The whole time this is done they are unaware they are being watched by rich casino goers as part of a 'human horse race' bet.

Funny Moments

Obviously this is one of those films where if I tell you too much but there are some moments in this that had me howling. Look for cows travelling in hot air balloons, why you should ALWAYS buy a squirrel, the coach driver's worst nightmare, the perfect way to dump you cheating boyfriend and the best way to p*** off a world war two vetaren!

The Characters

This film is unusual in that no one character stands out above the rest but rather is a concerted effort.

Rowan Atkinson: An Italian named Enrico Pollini, he is the most excited about the race but falls asleep in unfortunate places ie. midstride. Takes a quick detour with a transplant courier with hysterical results.

Breckin Meyer: Hoping to one day run for senator lawyer Nick Shaffer has never broken the law in his life, how will he cope with the ethics of this race? And will he get the girl(Amy Smart) or will she drop her helicopter on him like she did to ex Dean Cain?

Seth Green: Plays Duane Cody, a slightly psychotic streak and definate tendency to stray outside of what is legally acceptable. Aft
er a slight mishap involving a truck and an airport communication pylon he hits the road and finds himself getting closer to nature than some people might prefer.

Vince Vieluf: Duane Cody's younger brother Blaine. Speech hampered throughout the whole film by a recent piercing he enjoys the same ethical view of life as his brother although a fellow female piercing enthusiast and a child shows he's a bit of a softie after all.

Whoopi Goldberg: Originally in the casino to meet her estranged daughter (Lanei Chapman) Vera Baker gets a shock when they are both sent flying miles across country. Managing to break the landspeed record and hitch a ride with some characters who think seeing a rocket ship is an everyday occurrence they discover to their cost exactly why you don't irritate the squirrel lady (Kathy Bates).

Cuba Gooding Junior: disgraced NFL referee Owen Templeton finds this trip quite hard going. Discovering the delights of the desert thanks to a particularly irate fan he manages to fall in with a bad crowd....the I Love Lucy convention. And is it his imagination or that one who's eying him up slightly more masculine looking than most...

Jon Lovitz: Managing to convince his wife (kathy Najimy) he is in fact buying fountain pen ink compulsive gambler Randy Pear sets off accross country with her and both children in tow. Despite thinking that the money will solve all his problems he has an unpleasant surprise at the Barbie Museum and discovers the best way to get yourself shot at a WWII convention...all together now ACHTUNG!

John Cleese: The entrepreneur casino owner with very bizarre teeth Donald Sinclair stands to win big. But what happens when his racehorses won't play ball...

With the director of Airplane helming this one and a screen writer who understands that while clver comedy is very admirable sometimes people just want to giggle this film has been compared to Cannon ball Run a
nd National Lampoon films.

Personally I will be buying it when it hits the shelves and would advise anyone in need of a damn good laugh to treat themselves to a night in with this one.

Happy Hunting

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