Stars: Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese, Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding Jr., Seth Green, Jon Lovitz, Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart, Kathy Najimy

Director: Jerry Zucker

Summary: An eccentric casino owner named Donald Sinclair devises a race from Las Vegas to New Mexico with a prize of two million dollars. As soon as the race starts chaos and mayhem ensues...

An all-star cast proves just how far people will go for the chance to win $2 million in Jerry Zucker's RAT RACE. In the tradition of Zucker's AIRPLANE and NAKED GUN 2-1/2: THE SMELL OF FEAR, this film features wild chase scenes, slapstick comedy, sight gags, impossible situations, and zany characters. Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz, Rowan Atkinson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Seth Green, and Breckin Meyer star as the lucky winners of special tokens in the slot machines at a Las Vegas casino. Casino owner John Cleese informs them that they are invited to participate in a race: The first of them to reach Silver City, New Mexico, will receive the $2 million cash prize. To make things interesting, there are no rules, which leads to the commandeering of a bus, a run-in with Nazis, the use of a high-speed experimental car, and revenge on a cheating boyfriend--And that's just the beginning. In the meantime, the participants are really part of a bigger plan: high rollers are betting on which of them will win the cash. Watch for brief appearances by Kathy Bates, Dean Cain, and Wayne Knight. Also starring Amy Smart, Kathy Najimy, Lanai Chapman, and Vince Vieluf.

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Rat Raceought to be far less enjoyable than, in the end, it is. Studded with C-list stars, it has a heartless and derivative premise: a group of no-hopers racing across country for a stash of money for the amusement of a casino owner (John Cleese) and a group of high rollers who will bet on anything. Yet their adventures along the way are inventive: for example, lost in the desert Cuba Gooding Jr ends up stealing a coach only to find it full of Lucille Ball impersonators who go "Waaah!" in chorus whenever anything goes wrong. Even the slapstick is inventive: director Jerry AirplaneZucker and writer Andy Breckman do interesting things with hot-air balloons, a narcoleptic Rowan Atkinson, emergency organ transporters and Hitler's Mercedes Benz. All of the characters, from Breckin Meyer's smugly careful lawyer to Seth Green's shabby little con man, discover in the end that they have hearts, that some things are more important than money and that sometimes it is the journey that matters. Of course, these are all colossal sentimental clichés and yet the film has a sweet-natured quality that sells them to us.

On the DVD:Rat Raceis presented with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and Dolby 5:1 sound that delivers all of the snappy dialogue clearly. It comes with generous extras, including a gag reel, the theatrical trailer, an outtake where Seth Green completely fails to keep a straight face, a good-humoured interview with writer and director, a disappointing making-of documentary and some deleted scenes (with a couple that should not be missed). --Roz Kaveney

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Making Of Documentary, Interview With Director Jerry Zucker And Writer Andy Breckman, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, Theatrical Trailer
Year:	2001
Release Date:	November 4, 2002
Runtime:	107 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	P 9033 D V D
Keywords:	Comedy, General, Race, Wide, Screen, Rat
Genre:	Comedy