Delayed Reaction: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

The Pitch: A screwball comedy told at an epic scale.

Several groups of people race to find a fortune near the Mexican border.

I should preface this by saying that Rat Race is a movie that I adore. While I don't believe in "guilty pleasures", it is one of the certified Rotten (per RottenTomatoes) movies that I'll defend to my dying breath. The basic premise of a bunch of outsized characters competing and escalating situations in silly ways while trying to reach a target is one I like. For the same reason, I assume if I ever get to Cannonball Run, I'll probably like it. Hell, this likely explains why Wacky Races broke my brain as a child.

In short, I never should've doubted if I'd like It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (calling it "Mad World" from now on). There are a few key differences between Rat Race and Mad World though. Mad World was the first of its kind and has better credentials. It used that to come away with several Oscar nominations. It is almost a much, much, much, much longer movie at nearly 3 hours including an intermission.

The length makes sense. It's coming at the end of the epic era of Hollywood. Ben-Hur, Cleopatra, and The Ten Commandments were the big hits of the last decade. It's easy to see why a studio would think that a comedy movie at the same scale could work too. And it does, for the most part. The movie is packed with complications, obstacles, and new ways to pair the cast members. The only time it ever dragged for me was toward the end. The last bit as they are chasing Captain Culpeper for the money just goes too long. I didn't have any more enthusiasm left in the tank by then. Perhaps I should've stopped at the intermission and finished it the next day.

The more you know about actors of that and earlier eras the better. I picked up on a couple of the cameos but, looking now at the Wikipedia page, I realized I missed dozens of others. This is in addition to an already impressive central cast of legends (Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hacket, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Phil Silvers, Jonathan Winters, and many others).

I'm more impressed with the movie than in love with it, I suppose. It's an event movie that I'm sad I waited this long to see. Had I found it when I was much younger, maybe I'd love it as much as I love Rat Race.

Verdict: Strongly Recommend