Today’s quick review: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. When a car goes careening off the side of a cliff, four passing cars stop to help. With his dying breath, the occupant of the crashed car tells the motorists where he hid his stolen fortune. A calm detour to California to split the money quickly turns into an all-out race with every man for himself. As the secret spreads, strangers get in on the action, and soon a dozen people are speeding to the money by car, plane, and motorcycle, unaware that the police are onto them.
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a classic comedy with an all-star cast. The plot follows the growing number of groups trying to reach the money first. As car troubles and internal strife delay the groups, they are forced to turn to strangers for help, telling them about the money in exchange for vehicles or assistance. These strangers join the race in turn, the honest ones as allies and the duplicitous as rivals. The groups splinter and merge, and what began with two married couples, one mother-in-law, a trucker, and two friends ends with a tangle of comedy legends stumbling over each other to reach the money first.
A recurring theme in the movie is the warping effects of greed. The search for the money would have gone smoothly if the travelers had just stuck together and proceeded calmly. Instead, greed and mistrust gets the better of them, and they work against each other instead of together. The most sympathetic characters in the movie are the calm, sensible ones, who inevitably fall to the level of their peers when their long-suffering gives way to self-interest. The bickering between the characters, their setbacks, and the ways they overcome them are comedy in its classic form, delivered by well-known comedians such as Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Phil Silvers, and more.
Although one of the top in its genre, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World may not be for everyone. The movie is incredibly long for a comedy, clocking in at 2.5 hours even in its edited form and at over 3 hours in its original cut. Familiarity with mid-twentieth-century comedians is not a requirement for enjoying the film, but it helps, particularly with the film’s numerous cameos. The plot is chaotic and often hard to follow, particularly given the large cast and their numerous setbacks.
But the payoff is one of the best comedies ever produced and the pinnacle of its style. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World earns its laughs through its lifelike characters, hilarious situations, and impeccable delivery. Anyone who has ever gotten a chuckle out of mid-twentieth-century comedy should give It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World a shot. And if you’re not familiar with the cast, watch it with a friend or family member who is; their appreciation for the classics will rub off on you and make the movie all the more enjoyable. Skip it if your tastes in comedy veer more modern and aren’t going to change. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is 3 hours of top-notch comedy in a particular style, and your enjoyment of the movie will be directly proportional to how well you like that style.
7.6 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it an 8.0 as a balance between its stellar quality and the effort needed to handle its complexity and length. It works best as a masterpiece to view on special occasions rather than a casual watch to scratch a comedy itch.