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Las Vegas casinos go out of their way to accommodate their high rollers. They give out free meals –- and free rooms. And Donald P. Sinclair (John Cleese) from the Venetian even sends six people (along with their friends and family) on a rat race across the country –- just to give the high rollers something fun to bet on.
So here’s the deal: six quarter-slots gamblers in the Venetian casino are randomly chosen for the race. Each one is given a key that will open a locker in the Silver City, New Mexico train station. Inside the locker is a bag containing $2 million in cash –- and the first one to reach the locker gets to keep the cash.
And they’re off! As Sinclair and his high rollers watch from their suite in Vegas, the six competitors race for New Mexico. Naturally, they all head for the airport. But when Duane (Seth Green) and his brother Blaine (Vince Vieluf) get there and discover that the flight’s full, they decide that if they can’t fly, no one will -– so they sabotage the airport. Vera (Whoopi Goldberg) then races off through squirrel country with her long-lost daughter. Owen (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) hijacks a bus full of Lucille Ball impersonators. And Randy (Jon Lovitz) and his family end up in a Nazi museum -– and, after Duane and Blaine come along and tamper with their minivan’s engine, are forced to steal Hitler’s car.
At the same time, Enrico (Rowan Atkinson) battles narcolepsy and ends up on a van (driven by Wayne Knight) that’s delivering a human heart to El Paso. And Nick (Breckin Meyer), an aspiring lawyer, hops a helicopter with a pilot (Amy Smart) who snaps when she finds her boyfriend in his pool with his ex-girlfriend.
Meanwhile, back in Vegas, Sinclair and his assistant, Mr. Grisham (Dave Thomas) entertain the gamblers by creating all kinds of unusual wagers (like how much a Vegas hooker will charge for sitting in a hot tub full of Pepto Bismol while her client clips her toe nails).
Rat Race turned me into a gamblin’ woman. Since seeing it, I’ve had the urge to get my loved ones to bet on all sorts of situations. There’s one wager, however, that’s totally risk-free -– I bet that Rat Race will make you laugh so hard that your sides will hurt. How could you not? Have you seen the cast list? And if there’s a character or two that you don’t really like (for me, those were Whoopi and Rowan), you never have too long to wait until you jump to another story (like my personal favorites, Duane and Blaine).
The only disappointment in this movie is the end. It’s a total cop-out -– and I can think of a couple of alternate endings that would have been a lot less… pathetic. But when you consider how absolutely side-splitting the rest of the movie is, the end barely matters.
Rat Race is definitely a must-buy.
