But then a jeep was accidentally dragged up the side of a radar tower and all was forgiven. Go ahead and read that last sentence again because it's not a misprint. Once all the characters are properly introduced, the movie takes off at a breakneck pace, trying to jam every wild stunt or sight gag imaginable into the movie. Forget little amenities like character development or plot. They wouldn't be needed in a movie that never stops long enough to let you catch your breath.
The story is painfully simple. Donald Sinclair (John Cleese), owner of a Las Vegas casino, has placed a bag with two million dollars in cash in a locker at a train station in Silver Springs, New Mexico. The first one to get to the money gets to keep it. There are no rules. The game is so simple in fact that the contestants sit around asking questions after the owner yells go. Why has Sinclair done this? It's to give his wealthiest contestants something really new and interesting to bet on. In fact there is a running gag through the movie about the strange things these people will bet on.
The contestants are an oddball collection of people. Jon Lovitz drags his poor family about without ever admitting they're in a race. Cuba Gooding Jr. plays an NFL referee who blew a call so badly in a recent game that people he runs into want to kill him. Seth Green and Vince Vieluf play a pair of dimwitted brothers attempting to scam their way through life. Breckin Meyer is a straight laced lawyer who makes the mistake of partnering with a psychotically jealous helicopter pilot played by Amy Smart. Whoopi Goldberg and Lanei Chapman play a recently reunited mother and daughter. Rowan Atkinson is an Italian tourist cursed with narcolepsy.
They all take different approaches to getting to the prize money and none of them are smooth. Insane stunts lead in to wild sight gags which lead into moments of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can't go into any detail because I don't want to ruin any of the fun. Hell, I'm already feeling guilty that I told you about the jeep. Director Jerry Zucker runs almost the entire movie in a wildly over the top fashion and with the exception of the lame ending never takes his foot off the throttle. Over and over viewers are shown crazy events that will have them leaving the theater muttering, "I never saw that in a movie before."
The only real problem with the movie (apart from that wig and those teeth) is the ending. It's an absolute cheat that simply doesn't seem to match up with the tone of the movie. We needed an ending that is as over the top and daring as the rest of the movie and instead we get a poorly set up heartwarming ending. It's basically what separates this film from near classic status.
If, like me, you've felt starved for good comedy of late there is no reason not to go see this movie. It is easily the funniest film of the year so far.
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