Prime Time: Rat Race (2001)

With Jerry Zucker in the director's chair and a whole load of talented comedic performers in front of the camera, Rat Race certainly sets itself up as a film that wants to be in the top tier of modern comedies. The fact that it isn't, and the fact that it fails by such a large margin, is as surprising as it is disappointing.

The main premise is very simple, and very similar to another whacky comedy from decades ago, one that made use of an all-star cast. A group of people are selected to participate in a race to a locker some distance away. The first person to get there will get to keep the contents of the locker. $2M. It's that simple. Yes, this is basically a reworking of It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

There are moments that work in Rat Race, and some of those moments provide some hearty laughs. Jon Lovitz and Kathy Najimy bundling their two kids into a car that once belonged to Adolf Hitler pans out pretty much as you think it would, and is a real highlight, and there's a fun cameo from Kathy Bates, playing a woman obsessively trying to get people to buy one of her squirrels. A bus full of Lucille Ball fans also provides some fun. But there are so many other moments that either don't work as well as they should or just don't work entirely. The characters played by Seth Green and Vince Vieluf don't work, and neither do those played by Whoopi Goldberg and Lanei Chapman. Breckin Meyer and Amy Smart are helped by the script, although hindered by the fact that they're, well, Breckin Meyer and Amy Smart (to be fair, Meyer isn't as bad as Smart . . . but few actors are). Cuba Gooding Jr. is just fine, as is Rowan Atkinson, and John Cleese is helped along by super-white, larger, teeth to define his character.

Perhaps hampered by the script from Andy Breckman, Zucker feels like he could have been replaced by anyone in the director's chair. There's no sign of someone monitoring quality control, there's no sign of anyone taking on the responsibility to make the best of every comedy moment. All you get is a star vehicle without any big enough stars, but it's also very much a time capsule from 2001. From the cast to the plotting, despite it hewing so close to that 1963 movie mentioned above, and to the inclusion of Smash Mouth in the finale (not just a song, they get to make a cameo appearance and interact with all of the main players).

While it's not a film I'd recommend to anyone in the mood for a modern comedy, it IS a film I'd recommend to anyone looking for some easy entertainment that keeps throwing enough at the wall that one or two bits should stick. You can find a multitude of better comedies out there, but this is for people who want some recognisable faces and a general sense of familiarity (Atkinson, for example, is doing little more than a Mr. Bean act with an accent on top of his usual schtick). Passable enough. Just not often very good.

5/10

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Netflix And Chill: Norbit (2007)

This is where my brain takes me, and I hate it as much as you do. I had seen Norbit many years ago, and I remembered not liking it. I couldn't find anywhere I had reviewed or rated it, however, since my reformed completist attitude to logging my movie viewings on both IMDb and Letterboxd. I saw it was on Netflix and figured I might as well give it a go.

Ouch.

The basic plot revolves around Norbit (Eddie Murphy), a timid young man who was abandoned as a baby and taken in by Mr. Wong (also, ummmmm, Eddie Murphy, in a bit of stunt casting more troubling than most of his multiple roles over the years). Norbit ends up in a relationship with Rasputia, an obnoxious and overpowering woman who doesn't really treat Norbit as he might deserve to be treated. And the adult Rasputia is played by, yes, Eddie Murphy. Things start to look different when an old flame, Kate (Thandie Newton), comes back to town.

The first of a few movies that Murphy starred in while being directed by Brian Robbins, this remains arguably the worst of their collaborations, despite the stiff competition from their other outings. Based on a story by Eddie and his brother, Charlie, the screenplay was then worked on by the two of them, with additional work from Jay Scherick and David Ronn, a writing duo who have a filmography most politely described as a bit hit and miss. Nobody involved can really make the material more palatable, which leaves the comedy falling flat at almost every turn.

Murphy is decidedly okay as Norbit, but only because he's more relatable and human in that incarnation than he is in either the role of Rasputia or Mr. Wong, with both of them being exaggerated caricatures designed to get easy laughs from the low-hanging fruit. Fortunately, although Murphy gets the lion's share of the screentime, there's some enjoyment to be had with the supporting cast. Terry Crews is as fun as ever, Eddie Griffin and Katt Williams have a couple of fun moments, Marlon Wayans is more amusing here than he has been in anything else from the last couple of decades, and Newton is an appealing romantic interest. You also have Cuba Gooding Jr. here, and he ends up being a LOT of fun as the man due to marry Newton, the fly in the ointment of Norbit's potential happiness.

Any fan of Murphy nowadays will know that they have to suffer through some real clunkers if they are completing a journey through his filmography. I've not seen EVERYTHING yet (that Pluto Nash movie has never felt like a high priority), but it's hard to think of anything he could do that is worse than this. It's not funny, it's full of characters you don't ever really care about, and it's just another excuse for Murphy to get made up and act in scenes alongside himself. And did I mention that it wasn't funny? Because it REALLY isn't.

2/10

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Boyz N The Hood (1991)

An absolutely fantastic directorial debut from John Singleton (who also wrote the film), Boyz N The Hood holds up to this day as a great movie about people trying to break a cycle of violence and hate. Despite what you may think, if you've never seen the film, this is a movie with some major negative moments that pushes hard to convey a message of positivity. It doesn't glorify or glamourise any of the lifestyle choices that it shows other than one that can see people living happily beside one another.

Cuba Gooding Jr. stars as Tre Styles, a young man who has been brought up for a number of years by his father, Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne). Furious, despite the name, is a peaceful man who wants to see African Americans opening their eyes to the problems around them and making everything better. He is well aware of the statistics and he wants those numbers to change, especially when it comes to the life that his son will lead. Tre has a few close friends who seem to be on very different paths. Ricky (Morris Chestnut) actually has a chance to do well thanks to a scholarship opportunity but he's also already a daddy at a very young age so it's not going to be easy. Ricky has a brother called Darren AKA Doughboy. Doughboy is an angry young man, happy to waste most of his time relaxing with friends but also quick to reach for a gun if there is any sign of trouble.

I could, indeed maybe should, just wrap up this review now by saying that the movie oozes quality from almost every scene and deserves to be viewed at least once by anyone who loves great acting but everyone should know by now that I like the sound of my own voice (or the font of my own text - is that the blogging equivalent?) so I'll say a little bit more about the movie.

The main thing going against it is predictability. In a lot of ways the film feels fresh and different, especially in the way that Laurence Fishburne brings up Cuba Gooding Jr, but the main beats of the story are so obvious that you can spot them at least half an hour in advance. That doesn't make the movie horrible or unwatchable but it is something that's worth mentioning. There aren't any major surprises here.

Thankfully, the rest of the film works so well that you don't care. It remains the best directorial outing from John Singleton, who announced himself to the world with an astonishingly accomplished debut. It also remains some of the best acting work from the collected actors onscreen. Laurence Fishburne has given a number of great performances over the years but this is certainly up there with his very best. Cuba Gooding Jr. is superb and he's well matched by the different styles of Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut, Regi Green and Dedrick D. Gobert. Angela Bassett has a small, but important, role and so does Regina King while Nia Long plays the most prominent female character and makes herself into someone effectively adorable.

Although there are many ways in which Boyz N The Hood is exactly what you expect it to be there are a number of other ways in which it's completely removed from the preconceptions that viewers may have. Treat yourself by watching it soon if you haven't seen it already.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Boyz-Anniversary-Edition-Blu-ray-Region/dp/B005DL7S4M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347008149&sr=8-2