It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) (Movie Review)

  When it comes to sub-categories in comedy films, one of my personal favorites is the “Cross Country” sub-genera. This is when all the frantic set-pieces, and farcical events all occur out on the open road, in which anything goes, and all the fun laughs take the form of an adventure in of itself. Some of my favorites of this genera include 1965’s “The Great Race”, 1983’s “National Lampoon's Vacation”, and 2001’s “Rat Race”. However, the big one that really kicked off this category is the 1963 comedy classic “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World”. 

This is it, if you want a massive cast, insane cross-country destruction, crazy stunts, slap-stick brought to life on an epic scale … then this is the film to check out. For its time, this was one of the most expensive comedies ever made, and paid off as the third highest grossing film of the year. When adjusted for inflation, it earned a slot among the 100 highest grossing movies ever made. Over the years, the film has been regarded as a classic, and is frequently seen on lists of best comedies. While I personally wouldn’t place this among my absolute favorite movies, I do still look back on it fondly as one of the greats that launched my favorite sub-category in the comedy genera.  

  The movie opens with a delightful animated opening credit sequence, and as a side note, I really miss the days in which movies in general opened with colorful and creative credit sequences like this. Things then kick-off with a bang, as a car goes sailing over a cliff side … “He just went sailing out there!”. A number of random strangers get out of their cars to investigate, only to find a dying man, who before literally kicking the bucket, tells everyone that he berried 350,000 Dollars under “a Big W” in a small California Park. The group tries to be reasonable at first, but no-one can find any middle ground, and in a flash, they all take-off in this mad race for riches. Some travel by car, others by plan, some by water, and some with the misfortune of being stuck in one spot. All the destruction and chasses are all matched to the flow of a music track, which gives it the personality of a stage musical. In the end, it’s about ordinary people trying to escape their familiar lives in order to reach the unreachable fantasy.

  At the Academy Awards, this film won the Oscar for Best Sound Effects Editing, as well as five additional nominations for Best Original Sound Design, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Music Score by Ernest Gold, and finally Best Original Song, with Mark David’s “It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World” main theme, but it lost to "Call Me Irresponsible" from “Papa's Delicate Condition”. Through the picture, there’s many highs and lows, lots of crashes, lots of destruction, lots of stunts, and it makes for one heck of an epic comedy experience. One of my favorite scenes is the lead-in to the “Intermission”, which culminates into a hilarious montage of everything going to Hell in hand-basket for all the players in their different locations. My only reservation with this movie is its lengthy run-time, clocking in at 2 hours and 45 minutes. Supposedly, the original rough-cut was five hours long, was shortened to just over three hours for its theatrical premier, and finally scaled to the two-hour and forty-five minuet version on most home-video formats. Still, it’s a formidable length, and I can imagine the non-stop mayhem of the experience getting tiresome for some viewers.

  Of course, the films biggest claim to fame is its massive cast, which was comprised of some of the biggest names of the time, all coming together for this crazy event. We have Milton Berle, Spencer Tracy, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan winters, Buddy Hackett, Phil Silvers, and a slew of cameos from comedic talents like Don Knotts, Buster Keaton, Jerry Lewis, and even The Three Stooges. 

There are players you cheer for, and others you love to hate. Ethel Merman is the cranky mother-in-law, who you want to see get her comeuppance. Phil Silvers is a nasty Swindler named Otto, who wasn’t even part of the main group, but joins the race on his own. Watching over everyone are the State Police, who are so eager for some action, that they decide to let things play out as one big race for them to bet on. The Police Captain is played by Spencer Tracy, who’s the quiet one, with his everyday life getting so stressful, that he becomes the final contender, and aims to steel to loot out from everyone.  

  Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett are best friends, who get stuck in a hilarious side-quest, in which their both up in the air with a drunken pilot … who happens to have a mini-bar in his plane ... “Hit the button marked boos!”. 

Some of the biggest laughs come from these two in this crazy predicament … “Who’s flying the plane … no-ones flying the plane!”. My personal favorite side-quest is a business man played by Sid Caesar, and his attractive wife played by Edie Adams, who get a head start on everyone on a plane … only to get stuck in the basement of a hardware store after business hours end. Something about being stuck in one spot while the others play catch-up makes this situation hilarious, and the basement itself offers a number of funny slap-stick mishaps, including toppled over paint shelves, sudden fires, fork-lifts crashing through walls, and explosions.    

  We also have Jonathan winters, as a delivery man named Lennie, who’s on his own, and arguably the most lovable of all the cast. He’s the guy I find myself cheering for the most, as he’s so innocent, and always gets the worst luck. 

My favorite scene of the whole film, and subsequently one of my favorite action sequences of any comedy, is when he finds himself trapped at a gas station with two attendants who are preventing him from leaving. What follows is arguably one of the funniest and most destructive fight scenes ever put to film. The gas station itself is more fragile than an elementary school’s theater set, and seeing Lennie tear it apart is an absolute delight. As the fight rages, he continues to do more and more damage to the station in his effort to escape. By the time the fight ends, the entire station is completely leveled to the ground. It’s so funny and over the top that I find myself laughing all the way through to the next scene.

  There’s also a number of wildcards thrown into the mix, which keeps the films formula kicking. Dick Shawn plays an anger prone nut-ball named Sylvester, who’s related to Ethel Merman’s character, and can rivel Norman Bates with being emotionally obsessed with his mother. It’s around the half-way point in the film that Sylvester joins the action, and he starts by letting out his road rage on his brother-in-law, who got on mother’s bad side. This leads into a highly amusing car chase sequence, which plays out like a loving nod to the chases of old silent-comedies. Both the green-screen and stunt performers are obvious, and the sequence operates on cartoon logic … like our angry driver spending most of the chase out of the driver’s seat. He doesn’t even care about his vehicle going over a cliff into a pond … as long as he takes his snitch of a brother-in-law with him.

  Eventually, all the players reunite at the sight of the buried treasure … four bent-over trees resembling a “BIG W!” Just when you think the movie is about to wind down, it surprises us with a lengthy climactic chase, which culminates into a finale on a tall building. Everyone gets stuck on an out-of-control fire-truck ladder, and everyone gets their just deserts. One stand-out stunt is a guy crashing through pond-bridge … good thing this is a comedy, or else I don’t think he would have survived that. It’s also worth noting that the stop-motion effects on the ladder was one of the final accomplishments of the late Willis O’ Brien, who broke ground as a visual artist when he worked on the effects for the original 1933 classic “King Kong”. Thus, how do we finally close out such a lengthy and epic comedy as this … with the most classic trademark of slap-stick comedy … someone trips over a banana peel, and everyone has a big laugh over it. Honestly, it’s kind of a perfect way to end a comedy as direct and over the top as this.  

 When all is said and done … I personally have more fondness for the 2001 comedy “Rat Race”, which follows the same formula of random strangers racing after money, and is honestly one of my favorite comedies. It’s packed with more recognizable comedians from my generation, has a more reasonable length of eighty-eight minuets, and I just find it a funnier experience. Having said that … the original 1963 classic “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World” is still objectively the better made film. Beyond being a big spectacle, with an a-list cast on comedic legends, there’s just something about how the film is staged, edited, and structured that gives it an almost artistic quality, which balances out with all the fun and goofy mayhem. It really is one of the most epic comedies ever made, and if you’re willing to go along with its massive length, and anything goes sense of comedic cause … you might just find yourself having a wild and fun experience.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1963 comedy classic “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World” … and continue to enjoy the movies you love! 

 

The Batman (2022) (Movie Review)

   Following after the 2012 finale “The Dark Knight Rises”, I was on a high for more Batman at the movies … but with that said, I was also hoping Warner Brothers would take their time before a new standalone adventure. While Batman was still present in other crossover material, like the “Justice League” and “LEGO” franchises, it still took a full decade for Batman to have another standalone picture in 2022, simply titled “The Batman”. While more then enough time had passed, this film still needed to bring something new to the table, that could make it stand apart from Nolan’s iconic “Dark Knight” trilogy. What hooked my interest in this film was that it was going to put less focus on summer-spectacle, and would instead be a grounded, pulpy detective thriller. While the elements of Batman’s detective side had been utilized in previous films, “The Batman” was the first to solely commit to it, and it gave me hope that this new film could stand-apart from its predecessors, both in tone and even different levels of quality.  

    Right off the bat (no pun intended), I was so happy to see this movie open with a title card, especially after Nolan’s trilogy neglected them. Not only that, this was a huge title card that took-up the whole screen with bright-red text … as if to say “This is what your watching!”. Granted, I would have liked an opening credit sequence to go along with this card, but I’m also grateful for what I’ve got. 

Our story begins with the murder of Gotham’s Mayor, at the hands of a mysterious serial killer calling himself The Riddler. On a side note, this opening is set on Halloween night, and I love seeing live action Gotham going out for Trick R' Treat. I wouldn't be surprised in this opening was inspired by the famous comic-book "Batman: The Long Halloween". Back to the Riddler, it would seem that he’s targeting the cities elite, and is stringing Batman along in this deadly game of Cat & Mouse. As more ugly truths come into the light, our hero soon discovers that he’s being strung along to unravel an even bigger corruption in the heart of the city, and one that might just tie-into the late parents of Bruce Wayne. Along the way, our hero goes on a personal journey, in that he no-longer needs Batman for himself, but for the people of the city.

    Following after a string of top tear performances in hit films like “The Lighthouse”, “The King” and “Tenet”, I had high-hopes for Robert Pattinson in the lead role of Batman ... and he didn’t disappoint! While he plays a young, emo Bruce Wayne effectively, it’s his Batman portrayal that gave me chills. It’s a very visual performance, in that his spoken lines are brief, and most of the portrayal is conveyed through his movement, his expressions, and how he carries himself. It’s hard to explain, but he just has this presence, like he’s a real creature of the night, with just a thread of humanity holding him together. The costume design is also top-notch, as his mask allows for more expressions around the jaw-line, and the suit resembles body armor, without being too heavy for the actor to move around in. I also love the new accessories that come with his costume, like his chest-plated Bat-logo coming out as a switch blade knife, and I love his new contact lenses that record everything he sees. It’s also nice to finally have consistent continuity with his eye make-up remaining after he removes the helmet. It’s just a solid portrayal of the iconic character, and one that I’d place among my favorites.   

   Aiding our hero on this mystery is Cat-Woman, played by Zoe Kravitz. This is the first time Cat-Woman is depicted as a full-on protagonist, and it’s great to see how these two crime fighters work together. While they don’t always see eye to eye, she never once dose anything against Batman, and it just feels like a welcome change-up. 

Zoe Kravitz had previously voiced Cat-Woman in the 2017 picture “The Lego Batman Movie”, but now it was time for her to really shine in the role. Opposite of Batman, we see far more of Selina Kyle then we do Cat-Woman, yet thanks to Zoe Kravitz sharp performance, she still feels like Cat-Woman. In fact, this is a rare case in which I found myself preferring Selina Kyle on screen over Cat-Woman, as her cheap ski-mask is probably the weakest Cat-Woman costume design I’ve ever seen on film. Considering that she can afford her own motorcycle, apartment full of pet cats, and closet full of wigs, and different exotic outfits, there’s no excuse for her not affording a better Cat-mask. Still, those are small potatoes, as Zoe Kravitz is dynamite in the role, looks great using her feminine whiles to her advantage, also has long sharp fingernails, and even her relation with Batman is great. While it’s not the best written romance between the two, I find it one of the best acted, as well as one of the best staged. I love when they share a strong bonding scene, the two are on a rooftop, silhouetted against a beautiful sun-rise backdrop.

    Other familiar characters include Bruce’s loyal butler Alfred, now played by Andy Serkis, and our hero’s partner in crime solving Commissioner Gordon, now played by Jeffrey Wright. Without question, this is the closest Gordon has ever come off as the Watson to his Holmes, and it’s a great dynamic. While Gary Oldman is still my favorite Gordon, Jeffrey Wright brings something new and fascinating to the character. In many respects, he’s just as screw-loos as Batman, and he blindly trusts our hero, simply by his methods of quick results. It makes for a fun dynamic as the other police put-up with him, but they don’t trust him either. I love this moment when an officer claims Batman shouldn’t be touching items at a crime scene, to which our vigilante shoots him a look that says “Yeah … what are your going to do about it". Andy Serkis likewise brings something different to his portrayal of Alfred, which is a sense of emotional fatigue in seeing what Bruce has devolved into. I don’t say this lightly, but the scene with Bruce visiting Alfred in the hospital might just be my favorite scene these two characters have ever shared in a film.

    Now let’s shine some light on the film’s main villain … The Riddler … and I’ve got some mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, I love that this portrayal of the Riddler works in the shadows, is very mysterious, and his presence is felt most when leaving cryptic clues and messages for Batman. 

Paul Dana is also a great choice for the role, but I find his performance to be hit and miss. I personally found his screaming to be too over the top, but his quieter moments are effectively chilling, and really capture the essence of the character. However, I wasn’t overly fond of his costume design, as I felt he could have passed as an original villain as opposed to a different take on an established Batman foe. In fact, I really wish this was the comic villain called Hush as opposed to the Riddler, as he would have fit the narrative just as well. Also, there might have been one-too-many similarities to “The Dark Knight”, with both the cryptic messages on a news broadcast, and prison interrogation scene being obvious parallels to the Joker. Speaking of whom … I really didn’t need a last minute cameo from the Joker, as I feel he’s been over played in the movies already. While I can see actor Barry Keoghan delivering a solid Joker performance in another film, I just don’t want yet another Joker portrayal this soon.   

   Personally, I was far more engaged in the story revolving around the film’s secondary villain … crime boss Carmine Falcone, who’s played masterfully by John Turturro. Unlike the over-the-top screaming of The Riddler, John Turturro remained consistently intimidating, as his performance was kept quiet and reserved, yet still menacing and deceptive. I never thought a crime boss could have me more excited than one of Batman’s rouges, but the concept of this guy secretly running Gotham City, like a figurative mayor in the shadows was a brilliant concept, and one that I feel could have been explored even more. Also, as far as entertaining performances are concerned, no-one else quiet stole the show like Colin Farrell as The Penguin. Not only is he unrecognizable under that make-up, but he just disappears in the role, is clearly having a ball with it, and it makes for a highly enjoyable screen presence. It’s also a refreshing take on the character, as he’s less of a villain, and more of a street thug working for the mob. Despite being a supporting role, Colin Farrell’s take on The Penguin is absolutely one of the best takes I’ve ever seen of the character.    

   Director Matt Reeves is a talent I’ve been following for years, and loved his take on the last two “Planet of the Apes” pictures. For this movie, he hits all the right notes of classic film noir. The city is constantly rainy, nothing looks cheerful, and our reclusive hero bookends the story with a personal diary narration. By extent, this is one of the best looking and sounding films in the franchise, as it sustains its own distinct visual style, and with its own unique atmosphere. While Gotham city is still shot in Chicago, just like in Nolan’s films, the overall look and design still makes it feel otherworldly … like every shot could have been a still-image pulled right from a graphic novel. Even the interior design of Wayne Manor looks more Gothic, almost like all his Gargoyles should be facing in-word. Also, having the Shakespeare head from 60’s show in the background was a nice touch. It’s almost like a perfect marriage of Tim Burton’s otherworldly tone, yet mixed with Nolan’s grounded realism.

    Two location designs I feel could have been improved on were the Bat-Cave, which just looks and feels like a tight and claustrophobic garage. The other is the Penguins Ice-Burg-Lounge, which in the animated 90’s series had a very distinct look that I’ve always wanted to see in live-action … but in this movie, it just looks like a generic nigh-club, one that looks more fitting for Blade to bust into. Regardless, the technical aspects on display are all top-notch, as the sound design becomes a character in-of-itself, and Greig Fraser’s cinematography is a real sight to behold. Of course, "The Batman" received three Oscar nominations for Best Sound Mixing, Best Special Effects, and Best Make-up and Hair style. Personally, my favorite technical detail to highlight in any Batman film is the music score, which this time is provided by Michael Giacchino. I was begging to think that no other artist could compose a Batman theme that could stand out, but Michael Giacchino sustains the brooding nature of this film, while also giving a shot of adrenaline, and it gets me hyped every time I hear it. On a side note, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that awesome theme song from the trailer utilized in the film, which so rarely happens.

    One other reservation I have for this film is its insanely long runtime of 176 minutes, which isn’t to say I was ever bored once, but I just feel like they could have trimmed that down a little. Especially, with the constant gloom, and darkness of the picture, it can make that length feel like a bruiser. You really have to go in with the mind-set of a gritty crime drama, as there really isn’t much action carrying you trough the film, and all its strengths come from its slow burning mystery, the acting, and the technical merits. There are still a number of exciting highlights spread throughout that keep things engaging, including a very tense bomb scene, and a riveting escape from a police station. Of course, the big highlight is Batman’s car chase with The Penguin. Despite being shot in the rain, as well as mostly being framed from the perspective of the driver, I didn’t have any problems following the geography of the scene, and naturally it looks amazing. I also like that this new Bat-Mobile still keeps the shape of a car, just with a lot of armor on it. The music once again is pulse pounding, and the final image of Batman emerging from flames is a thing of beauty.    

  After this lengthy slow-burning mystery reaches finality, we segue into the climax, in which the Riddler floods all of Gotham City, and sends his goons to take out the mayor candidate. While I’d absolutely place this movie overall among one of Batman’s best, this climax unfortunately is one of my least favorite of the whole franchise. Batman’s brawl with the goons isn’t on par with his other fights, and we don’t even have the satisfaction of seeing the hero face-off with a main villain. This is actually the very fist final battle in a Batman movie that doesn’t feature a main villain of any sort. There are at least two stand-out moments, one of which is Batman crashing through an exploding skyline, and the other is one of the goons repeating Batman’s vengeance quote from the opening. I’ll admit, while the final battle did little for me, the resolution at the end is one of the best of any film in the series, as our hero learns that he needs to fight for the people as opposed to himself, and we get a very powerful image of him leading survivors out of the rubble and into the light.

   It’s honestly one of the most uplifting epilogues of any Batman film, and I love seeing him amongst fire-fighters, and helping to save lives. There’s a great moment when he comforts a lady on a stretcher, and through his physical performance assures her that everything is going to be fine … it’s so beautiful. 

I also love Batman and Cat-Woman playfully racing each-other on motorcycles before going separate ways. In the end, after a decade of being in the shadows, this was a highly satisfying return to form for a stand-alone Batman adventure. It was also a welcome change-up to put more focus on being a gritty crime mystery, as opposed to flashy summer action, and adventure. Needless to say, it delivers the best of both worlds ... it’s a grounded story, yet complemented with an eye for comic-book flair, and absorbing atmosphere. While it's slow-burning narrative, and grim tone won’t be for everyone, Matt Rives brilliant direction, as well as the strong cast keep things engaging, and the end result is arguably one of the most respectful in capturing the essence of Batman’s source material.

Thanks for reading my review of the 2022 picture “The Batman” … and continue to enjoy the movies you love!