Rat Race (2001)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Adventure

Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Breckin Meyer, Cuba Gooding Jr., Vince Vieluf, Seth Green, Whoopi Goldberg, Lanei Chapman, John Cleese, Jon Lovitz, Kathy Najimy, Amy Smart

The owner of the Venetian Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Donald Sinclair (Cleese) is probably the most self-proclaimed eccentric man ever. He realised that the rich and famous are bored of the normal card games played in the casino and want to bet on something more irrational and fun. From 'which chamber maid can hang from a rod the longest', 'how much would a hooker charge for doing something very absurb' to, of course, the rat race. 6 groups of people were picked at random from the casino to take part in a cross country race to Silver Springs, New Mexico where the winner wins $2 million. Sinclair and his friends get to bet on who they think would be the winner. Football referee Owen Templeton (Gooding Jr.) has lost his reputation for messing up a coin toss during the recent game and fans would willingly beat him up on sight. Petty cooks and brothers Duane (Green) and Blaine Cody (Vieluf) have achieved nothing in life and think this might just be it. Vera Baker (Goldberg) has just met her long lost daughter Merill Jennings (Chapman) after years of being apart. Nick Schaffer (Meyer) has no intentions of taking part in the race, however, his flight to Chicago is grounded, thanks to the Cody brothers, and he meets a helicopter pilot Tracy (Smart) who is heading towards Silver Springs. Since she is going there after all, and since he cant get to Chicago, he reckoned he might as well get back to the race. Enrico Pollini (Atkinson) a narcoleptic Italian keeps falling off to sleep at completely random places, only to wake up and continue onwards. Randy Pear (Lovitz) is a gambling-addict who has come with his family to Vegas on vacation. He lies to his family that he has work in Silver Springs and keeps cooking up stories on the way. The movie is funny and is a sure-shot dose of entertainment. You might not fall off your seat though, but it would give you a pretty good laugh!

Thumbs up: Great humour

Thumbs down: Everything else

Rating: 6.8/10