# Rat Race (film)
**Rat Race** is a 2001 American ensemble comedy directed by Jerry Zucker and written by Andy Breckman, in which a Las Vegas casino tycoon sends six contestants racing from Las Vegas to [Silver City, New Mexico](https://www.edgepedia.org/silver-city-new-mexico) for $2 million while his wealthy patrons bet on the outcome. [Paramount Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount-pictures) released it in wide release on August 17, 2001.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rat_race) • [2](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/rat-race)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Jerry Zucker; screenplay by Andy Breckman[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rat_race) |
| Release | August 17, 2001, wide, by Paramount Pictures; PG-13[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rat_race) |
| Premise | Six contestants race roughly 700 miles for $2 million stashed in a Silver City, New Mexico train station locker; the only rule is that there are no rules[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rat_race) • [3](https://time.com/archive/6664623/cinema-good-old-fashioned-lunacy/) |
| Box office | $56,607,223 domestic, $86,607,223 worldwide, on a $48,000,000 production budget[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rat-Race) |
| Critical scores | 44% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (129 reviews); Metascore 52 from 26 reviews[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rat_race) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/rat-race/) |
| Relationship to 1963 film | Widely described as a remake, or uncredited remake, of Stanley Kramer's *It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World*[6](https://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/movies/article/race-a-sad-sad-sad-sad-rip-off-1062897.php) |
| Runtime | 112 minutes per Paramount; some listings give 125 minutes[2](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/rat-race) • [7](https://moviearchive.phase9.tv/movies/ratrace.shtml) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and cast
Donald Sinclair ([John Cleese](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-cleese)), owner of a Las Vegas casino, devises a contest to entertain his high-rolling clients: six contestants, each winners of a special token at the slot machines, race to be first to reach $2 million in a locker at the Silver City, New Mexico train station. Unknown to them, the tycoon and his rich friends bet on the outcome and track the racers' every move.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rat_race) • [8](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/rat-race/?form=save-a-life)
The racers are Nick Schaffer ([Breckin Meyer](https://www.edgepedia.org/breckin-meyer)), a strait-laced lawyer; Owen Templeton ([Cuba Gooding Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/cuba-gooding-jr)), a disgraced football referee; mother and daughter Vera Baker ([Whoopi Goldberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/whoopi-goldberg)) and Merrill Jennings (Lanei Chapman); con-artist brothers Duane and Blaine Cody (Seth Green and Vince Vieluf); Randy Pear (Jon Lovitz) on a family vacation with his wife Beverly (Kathy Najimy); and Enrico Pollini (Rowan Atkinson), a narcoleptic Italian.[9](https://www.jestersreviews.com/reviews/4939) The supporting cast includes Amy Smart as helicopter pilot Tracy Faucet, Wayne Knight, Dave Thomas, Dean Cain, and Paul Rodriguez.[2](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/rat-race) • [10](https://www.showtimes.com/movies/rat-race-2313/) The production notes point out that the cast draws on three celebrated comedy troupes: Monty Python (Cleese), Saturday Night Live (Lovitz, and writer Breckman), and SCTV (Dave Thomas).[11](https://www.cinema.com/articles/622/rat-race-production-information.phtml)
Set pieces include Owen commandeering a busload of [Lucille Ball](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucille-ball) impersonators, Enrico hitching a ride on an organ-donor delivery truck, Nick dangling from a balloon in an airborne cow encounter, and Randy stealing [Adolf Hitler](https://www.edgepedia.org/adolf-hitler)'s touring car, Nazi flags and all.[8](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/rat-race/?form=save-a-life) • [12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/08/17/ready-set-groan/358e6b21-1f4f-4b35-b123-348a7fec5527/) In the conclusion, the characters donate all of the money to charity at a [Smash Mouth](https://www.edgepedia.org/smash-mouth) concert.[13](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1483612711940071&disposition=inline)
## Production
Paramount sent the original screenplay by Andy Breckman, previously known for *Sgt. Bilko* and *I.Q.* and for sketch writing on [Saturday Night Live](https://www.edgepedia.org/saturday-night-live), to producer Sean Daniel of Alphaville Films.[11](https://www.cinema.com/articles/622/rat-race-production-information.phtml) • [12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/08/17/ready-set-groan/358e6b21-1f4f-4b35-b123-348a7fec5527/) For eight months, Breckman and Zucker convened in a conference room and, using multicolored index cards, outlined the parallel story lines of each racer, trying to make each sequence as funny as it could be.[11](https://www.cinema.com/articles/622/rat-race-production-information.phtml) The film was produced by Jerry Zucker, Janet Zucker, and Sean Daniel, with James Jacks and Richard Vane as executive producers; [John Powell](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-powell) composed the score.[2](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/rat-race) • [14](https://westside.pictures/programme/rat-race)
After two weeks of filming in Las Vegas, the production moved five hours north to the small mining town of [Ely, Nevada](https://www.edgepedia.org/ely-nevada).[11](https://www.cinema.com/articles/622/rat-race-production-information.phtml) The animation studio Wild Brain created the film's animated opening title sequence.[15](https://www.awn.com/news/wild-brain-creates-opening-credits-rat-race) Animal actors were monitored under American Humane's No Animals Were Harmed program; the cow that appears to drive a convertible in the Silver City finale was animatronic.[8](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/rat-race/?form=save-a-life)
## Box office and reception
The film opened in third place in the US top ten behind *American Pie 2* and *Rush Hour 2*, grossing $11,662,094 on its opening weekend from 2,550 theaters.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rat-Race) • [16](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/rat-race-at-20-revisiting-jerry-zuckers-ensemble-caper-throwback/) It went on to gross $56.6 million domestically and about $86.6 million worldwide against a $48 million budget, and became a popular early DVD title.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rat-Race) • [16](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/rat-race-at-20-revisiting-jerry-zuckers-ensemble-caper-throwback/)
Reviews were mixed. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus reads, "Rat Race moves from one sight gag to another, but only a handful of them are genuinely funny," and the Tomatometer settled at 44 percent from 129 reviews; the audience Popcornmeter stood at 64 percent.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rat_race) Metacritic recorded a Metascore of 52 from 26 reviews, ranging from Mick LaSalle's 100 in the [San Francisco Chronicle](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-chronicle) ("the funniest film to come along since *South Park*") to Joe Morgenstern's 20 in the Wall Street Journal, who called it "a sad sad sad sad example of what Hollywood is currently serving up."[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/rat-race/) • [17](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250687/criticreviews/) Richard Schickel in *Time* called it "a fine madness, full of jaunty desperation" and an updated variant of *It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World*.[3](https://time.com/archive/6664623/cinema-good-old-fashioned-lunacy/) Opening-weekend audiences gave it a B+ CinemaScore, a sign of stronger word of mouth than the reviews suggested.[18](https://www.rabbit-reviews.com/movie-recommendations/comedy/rat-race-2001/)
## Relationship to earlier films and afterlife
Critics and later commentators consistently place *Rat Race* in the lineage of [Stanley Kramer](https://www.edgepedia.org/stanley-kramer)'s 1963 *It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World*, about a mad scramble by competitors to recover a fortune; the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's review called it an uncredited remake, while the Rotten Tomatoes editorial writer Nathan Rabin, a freelance writer and former first head writer of [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club), groups it with the subgenre Kramer's film inspired, including *Scavenger Hunt* (1979), *Midnight Madness* (1980), *The Cannonball Run* (1981), and *Million Dollar Mystery* (1987).[6](https://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/movies/article/race-a-sad-sad-sad-sad-rip-off-1062897.php) • [19](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/why-2001s-rat-race-is-a-perfect-piece-of-escapism-for-modern-times/)
In the years since release, the film has developed a cable-rerun following and is often cited as an underrated entry in the early-2000s wave of large-cast studio comedies.[18](https://www.rabbit-reviews.com/movie-recommendations/comedy/rat-race-2001/) A retrospective at Film Stories argues that its old-fashioned, stunt-heavy PG-13 ensemble caper approach may make it the last film of its kind made in the Hollywood studio system, with later ensemble comedies favoring dialogue-driven improv in the style associated with Judd Apatow.[16](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/rat-race-at-20-revisiting-jerry-zuckers-ensemble-caper-throwback/) The film was nominated for a Taurus Award at the 2002 World Stunt Awards.[14](https://westside.pictures/programme/rat-race)
## References
1. [Rat Race, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rat_race)
2. [Rat Race, Paramount Pictures](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/rat-race)
3. [Cinema: Good Old-Fashioned Lunacy, Time (Richard Schickel, 2001)](https://time.com/archive/6664623/cinema-good-old-fashioned-lunacy/)
4. [Rat Race (2001), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rat-Race)
5. [Rat Race Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/rat-race/)
6. ['Race' a sad, sad, sad, sad rip-off, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (2001)](https://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/movies/article/race-a-sad-sad-sad-sad-rip-off-1062897.php)
7. [Rat Race, Phase9 Movie Archive](https://moviearchive.phase9.tv/movies/ratrace.shtml)
8. [Rat Race (2001), American Humane Society](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/rat-race/?form=save-a-life)
9. [Rat Race (2001) review, Jesters Reviews](https://www.jestersreviews.com/reviews/4939)
10. [Rat Race, Showtimes.com](https://www.showtimes.com/movies/rat-race-2313/)
11. [Rat Race: Production Information, Cinema.com](https://www.cinema.com/articles/622/rat-race-production-information.phtml)
12. [Ready, Set, Groan, The Washington Post (Rita Kempley, 2001)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/08/17/ready-set-groan/358e6b21-1f4f-4b35-b123-348a7fec5527/)
13. [Film Comedy and the American Dream, OhioLINK ETD (Bowling Green State University)](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1483612711940071&disposition=inline)
14. [Rat Race, Westside Pictures](https://westside.pictures/programme/rat-race)
15. [Wild Brain Creates Opening Credits Rat Race, Animation World Network (2001)](https://www.awn.com/news/wild-brain-creates-opening-credits-rat-race)
16. [Rat Race at 20, Film Stories](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/rat-race-at-20-revisiting-jerry-zuckers-ensemble-caper-throwback/)
17. [Rat Race (2001) Metacritic reviews, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250687/criticreviews/)
18. [Rat Race (2001) review, Rabbit Reviews](https://www.rabbit-reviews.com/movie-recommendations/comedy/rat-race-2001/)
19. [Why 2001's Rat Race Is A Perfect Piece of Escapism for Modern Times, Rotten Tomatoes editorial (Nathan Rabin, 2017)](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/why-2001s-rat-race-is-a-perfect-piece-of-escapism-for-modern-times/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2000 to 2002 › Comedies of 2001*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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