Comments

1. Anonymous Said,

   When I think of big-budget comedies of the 1960s, the only one that I remember with any fondness at all is It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. That was hilarious. But The Great Race, right from its theatrical release, just struck me as so broad and cartoonish as to be unwatchable for anyone over the age of maybe 10. I mean literally I didn’t laugh out loud once, and I didn’t laugh once when I saw it on video recently (checking to see if my memory was faulty). Just a big clunking thud of a movie that reminds me of “Life with Lucy,” Lucille Ball’s ill-fated attempt to revive her sitcom persona decades later but with her same “I Love Lucy” writing team, who hasn’t realized that comedy tastes had changed. When The Great Race stages a chase or a pie fight, it’s not like watching a witty 60s homage to 20s physical comedies — it IS a 20s comedy, but in cumbersome 60s clothing. Has Jack Lemmon made a worse movie (besides Under the Yum Yum Tree)? I give this one star for its Oscar-winning song, “The Sweetheart Tree,” which deserved a better vehicle. See It’s a MMMM World if you want to laugh.
   Rating: 2 / 5

2. Anonymous Said,

   Given the stars, the music, and Blake Edwards on a roll, one would think this film would have to be good. It isn’t. The reviewers who raved probably like network sitcoms. I counted two laughs, which is less than one an hour. Slapstick by the Three Stooges is better and funnier. What went wrong? It’s the script, I think. It depended entirely too much on gadgets and stunts designed to tickle teens. A waste of all concerned.
   Rating: 2 / 5

3. Alex Udvary Said,

   In theory I should have loved this Blake Edwards film. I’m a big fan of slapstick comedy. And I understand what type of movie Edwards was trying to make but “The Great Race” seems to be too many things at once. And that hurts it.

   The first half hour or so of the film reminds me of the wilde coyotte/road runner cartoons. We see Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon) try out his inventions just to see them one by one fail. The opening scenes are built around a single joke at the end. It’s set-up punchline, set-up punchline, set-up punchline. And this goes on for a half hour. That’s wasted film. They didn’t have to show us the same thing over and over. We’re smart, we get the picture. We understand who these characters are from the very beginning. Because we know what Edwards is doing. Tony Curtis (The Great Leslie) is the hero. How do we know? Because he wears white, women like him and when he smiles his teeth sparkle. Jack Lemmon is the villian. How do we know? Because he wears black and has a mustache. Remember all the villians in those 1920 comedies always had a mustache. So it’s all very easy.

   I going to let you in on a little secret, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. I’m actually not a big Blake Edwards fan. You may find this odd but I find that I enjoy his more serious films more. I think “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” is a great film. I enjoy “Days of Wine & Roses”, and I like “VictorVictoria”. This is a comedy I suppose but I always think of it more so as a musical. I never really had too much with his “Pink Panther” movies. I enjoyed the first two “A Shot in the Dark” and “The Pink Panther” but I think Edwards made too many sequels. He tried his hardest to cash in. I don’t like “A Fine Mess” or “Switch” either. So I guess I’m not the right audience for this movie.

   “The Great Race” starts off with a caption “For Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy” is those names mean nothing to you, you too are no the right audience for this movie. As I first started watching the movie I wonder how is this even related to Laurel & Hardy’s comedy. Then I noticed Lemmon and Peter Falk (Lemmon’s trusted sidekick Max) are Laurel & Hardy.

   As I said “The Great Race” wants to be too many things at once. It wants to be a slapstick comedyadventureromance and I think if they had more time secretly it also wants to be a musical. Edwards has too much on his plate. The movie never quite sets a proper tone. And I have to admit, no matter how mad people get, I didn’t find the movie all that funny.

   But this is not to say the movie is a complete dud. It’s not. I like Lemmon’s performance as Prince Hapnik. It’s a little over the top, and too cartoonish, but in a movie like this he fits right in. I also enjoyed Natalie Woods’ performance, who spends much of the second half of the film in her underwear (wink, wink). And if you’re going to make an old-fashion comedy like this you just gotta have a great pie fight. And I like the score by Henry Mancini, who’s music is always pleasing. But that about does it.

   I see I’m the odd man out here, everyone seems to like this movie. But if I went along with the parade I wouldn’t be honest with myself. I’m simply think the movie is too long, not funny, and tries to do too many things at once. I don’t hate this movie, but I don’t like it either. I’m sort of in the middle of the road.

   Bottom-line: Not a very funny Blake Edwards comedy. Goes on way too long and combines too many different genre without setting a proper place. One of the best things about the film is Natalie Woods in her undies.
   Rating: 2 / 5

4. El Kabong Said,

   I don’t have the patience, or the bladder, for many of the roadshow-spectacles of the 60s. There’s something obscene about not just the profligate wasting of money, but the very concept of 2 1/2 & 3-hour comedies. And THE GREAT RACE shares many of these defects. The big-bigger-biggest aesthetic is completely at odds with what great comedy is all about; too many of the gags here fall flatter than a pancake as a result. Precision timing is tossed to the wayside so that we can get an eyeful of the money being spent at every opportunity: the opening dedication to Laurel & Hardy may be well-meant, but the 150 minutes that follow make such sentiments ring hollow when you consider the combined budget of EVERY short and feature Stan & Ollie made is less than what this white elephant cost to produce. Still, THE GREAT RACE ain’t ALL velvet curtains and Busby Berkeley pie fights. The late Jack Lemmon, nicely abetted by Peter Falk, makes this elephantine epic worth investing in a beaded seat-cushion to sit through. His dual turn as Professor Fate and the Prince of Potsdorf is deliriously, enthrallingly over the top. Rarely did Lemmon throw caution to the wind like this; you’ll wish he did it more often after watching him release his deranged comic muse out of its cage. Subtle it ain’t, but that’s the joy of it. And as soon as the plot extricates itself from his crazed grip to return to Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood, you’ll appreciate his mustache-twirling bombast twice as much. Rarely mentioned when cineastes gather to collate the Jack Lemmon canon, THE GREAT RACE is nevertheless his finest comic turn; it’s only due to Lemmon and Falk that you can refer to this overlong mess as a comedy at all. Put on a pot of strong coffee, pop this into the VCR and savor his deliciously shameless slapstick.
   Rating: 3 / 5

5. Anonymous Said,

   THE GREAT RACE contains some of the greatest comic elements that can only be created by Blake Edwards. The first part of the film is really great, but when it comes to the imitation of THE PRISONER OF ZENDA, it becomes weaker. Jack Lemmon plays two roles, the mad professor and the idiotic king, the latter being the one I dislike. I just don’t feel like laughing when I see him play the king. The most awful scene is the throwing of the cakes – a waste of food, and a waste of the audience’s time. The entire episode can simply be cut, then THE GREAT RACE would have been among the best comedies.
   Rating: 3 / 5