Review of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) by Jason G — 30 May 2008

Good grief...

I actually sat through all 2hrs and 40 minutes of this disaster because with a cast like this... I kept figuring that something was going to eventually happen.

Not only was the cast impressive, but the cameos were great too... so how is it that with such an impressive array of super-multi-talented comedians and almost 3rs to play with... this movie sucked so much?

You know... alot of people like to criticise JERRY LEWIS but his comedies from the same era at least make me laugh. (...and I wouldn't say I'm a huge, huge fan of his, either).

This film was a mess.

Extremely linear plot and filled with tremendous amounts of slapstick and physical humour.

Bad... UNFUNNY... UNINSPIRED Slapstick and physical humour.

Slapstick and Physical humour isn't a bad thing... but it's got to be good and there has to be MORE to it... (like some funny lines? A funny script?).

You've got guys like MILTON BERLE... BUDDY HACKET... JONATHAN WINTERS... the great SID CAESAR and PHIL SILVERS and the funniest line in the whole movie is credited to some unknown, bit-actor in a 10 second scene shot in an airport control tower????:

"Wouldn't it be easier to just shoot them down"?

Every actor in this film should have fired their agent. (But... somehow this film went on to do very well).

Look... This film hearkens back to the day when studios could actually get a star-studded cast like this (which is generally too expensive to do in this day and age). and so watching IT'S A MAD,MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD exactly ONE time is worth it just to see all of these icons up on the screen at once...

...but once that curiosity is satisfied, you'll probably find it difficult to EVER sit down for almost 3 hours (3 HOURS!!!!) to ever, ever, EVER... watch it again.

It just isn't that funny.

3 HOURS!!!!

...and they only used the "3 STOOGES" for a 10 second cameo!??!?! The boys didn't get to speak, they didn't get to address the camera... they didn't even get to move. They were like "extras".

What a waste! Why bother having them even show up on the soundstage?

Because I don't want to go away without giving the film at least SOME credit.... IAMMMMW boasts some of the greatest driving/road/car action sequences I've seen in a "60's era" film. There's alot of that annoying "screenwork" in the film (usually seen when drivers are "driving" in their cars...) but all of the exterior driving shots and chases were done extremely well, especially for 1963.

Watch it once (if you can sit through it)...

Criminally UN-FUNNY when you consider the talent involved...