Rat Race

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Rat Race

PG-13

Released Aug 17, 2001

1h 52m

Comedy

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

45%

Tomatometer

128 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

In an ensemble film about easy money, greed, manipulation and bad driving, a Las Vegas casino tycoon entertains his wealthiest high rollers -- a group that will bet on anything -- by pitting six ordinary people against each other in a wild dash for $2 million jammed into a locker hundreds of miles away. The tycoon and his wealthy friends monitor each racer's every move to keep track of their favorites. The only rule in this race is that there are no rules.

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Critics Consensus

Rat Race moves from one sight gag to another, but only a handful of them are genuinely funny.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Vulgar and lowbrow, but very funny.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 28, 2010

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Jane Crowther

BBC.com

A genuinely hilarious belly-acher.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 8, 2002

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Rita Kempley

Washington Post

Fitfully amusing farce.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jan 6, 2002

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...the film stands as a frequently gut-busting comedy that falls just short of greatness (or, at the very least, consistency).

Rated: 2.5/4

Jan 23, 2021

Full Review

Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

You'll laugh. You'll laugh so hard you cry. You'll hold you're sides from laughter. And then, you'll laugh some more. And after you've seen it once, you'll "race" back to the theater and see it twice just to make sure you get all of the jokes.

Nov 13, 2019

Full Review

Christopher Smith

Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Ruthlessly dumb people--but funny, too.

Rated: B+

Sep 12, 2007

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Stanislav O

This movie has like 3 funny jokes… the rest is very painful to watch, especially since for most humorous elements to happen everyone is supposed to be dumbed down by million times.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/03/25

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Audience Member

So awful that is was amazing 🤩

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/25/25

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Daniel N

Absolutely brilliant. Was great fun when it was first released and is still great fun today. Easy to watch with plenty of laughs

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/10/25

Full Review

John A

Infantile and slapstick humour which is a shame since some of the actors/actresses are quite talented, like Whoopie Goldberg, Rowan Attkinson, and John Cleese. But the script reduces their talent to slapstick “comedy”.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/28/25

Full Review

Amanda S

This movie made me laugh out loud. I watched it in 2025 - 20 years after it was made and wonder how Ive never come accross it before.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/27/25

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Jimmie R

Genius comedic writing and casting.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/25/25

Full Review

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Jerry Zucker

Director

Rowan Atkinson

Mr. Pollini

John Cleese

Donald Sinclair

Whoopi Goldberg

Vera Baker

Cuba Gooding Jr.

Owen Templeton

Seth Green

Duane Cody

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Rat Race: Official Clip - A Little Detour

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Rat Race: Official Clip - Lightning II: The Landspeeder

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Rat Race: Official Clip - Balloon Chase

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Synopsis

In an ensemble film about easy money, greed, manipulation and bad driving, a Las Vegas casino tycoon entertains his wealthiest high rollers -- a group that will bet on anything -- by pitting six ordinary people against each other in a wild dash for $2 million jammed into a locker hundreds of miles away. The tycoon and his wealthy friends monitor each racer's every move to keep track of their favorites. The only rule in this race is that there are no rules.

Director: Jerry Zucker
Producer: Sean Daniel, Janet Zucker, Jerry Zucker
Screenwriter: Andy Breckman
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Seven Arts Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Rat Race USA Inc., Alphaville Films
Rating: PG-13 (Language|Crude Humor|Partial Nudity|Sexual References)
Genre: Comedy, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 17, 2001, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $56.6M
Runtime: 1h 52m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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