The Worst Film Ever

So much average

Great Film overall

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Classic movies aren't all super slow and overly dramatic and full of weird kisses where the actors don't move their lips at all (like, just in case you thought they were). Sometimes they are really, really funny. Case in point, this movie about a bunch of misfit type characters who set off to find a buried fortune supposedly hidden by an ex-con who dies in a car crash. It's a race for the money! Fast, frenetic, funny. See it!

This was one of my absolute favorite movies as a child. It's both one of the longest and craziest movies I've ever seen. It focuses on several car loads of people driving down a mountainous road, when a car comes racing by doing about 90 and launches right off a cliff. Some of the people from the cars go down to help the injured man who was driving the car, he informs them with his dying breathe that there's millions of dollars buried under a big W out in California. They all talk amongst themselves later on after he's died about the supposed fortune and how they'll divide it up. But the problem is that they can't please everyone, so they just decide to have it as everyone for himself and they race to see who can get there first. The big thing in this movie is the cast. The cast is chock full of big famous stars from that time. They all fit their roles well and play them exceptionally well. I can't go through every single actor because there are simply too many of them. But I will say that my personal favorite member of the cast is Ethel Merman, and that's because she played her role with enthusiasm, sharp wit, and hits every humorous line with just the right amount of craziness, her character alone makes up half the comedy in my opinion. The movie also uses slapstick if that's your kind of comedy. The writing is full of good humor, it's not all crazy stunts, even though there's certainly no shortage of that. 10/10. This really is a very fun movie and I would encourage your whole family to sit down and watch.

How can you take the biggest names in comedy of that period and make an immense film showcasing all their talents and the single funniest character is.... Ethel Merman? The problem is that these are not 'character actors' but major comedians who each live and are funny in their own 'comic universe'. Brought together into a single narrative and a single movie it is leaden.Everyone from Phil Silvers to Jonathan Winters and Sid Caesar are wasted because these are comedians meant to comically DOMINATE their surroundings. The movie itself 'climaxes' in spectacular pandemonium but all the comedians never achieve that comic 'high' one expects of them. It is too long by a good 45 minutes as well. Ethel Merman DID make me laugh.

When director Stanley Kramer assembled the cast for "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", the comedians were standing in line for a chance to appear in the film. The result is a veritable Who's Who of comedy from silent film days to 1961. (Check out "Rat Race" (2001) for another comedy with a large ensemble.)I saw IAMMMMW at a drive-in on its first release. I enjoyed the film, with its cartoonish action and characters. It was like watching Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner (and friends) played with human actors. Over time, it has not become dated. In fact, I enjoy it more today. As an older viewer, I can better appreciate the subtleties of the performances (even within the slapstick) and the quality of the script. Also, even though I knew who most of the actors were back in 1961, I now have a greater respect for and knowledge of their abilities and careers.There are so many talents in this film, both as leads and as supporting actors and in cameos. But there are a few who really drive this comedy. Jonathan Winters, for example, plays a manic character who is like an unstoppable force. Dick Shawn portrays a kooky, west coast surfer dude like no one else can. Ethel Merman--surprisingly--is like a walking punchline, giving all of the actors something to play off of--like an MVP. And Phil Silvers always makes me laugh, with his "Why I oughta" snarkiness.For cinema fans, this is a film that should be watched for its record of comedic talent. Consider Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, Terry Thomas, Don Knotts, Jimmy Durante, and Jerry Lewis, just to name a few. The jokes come from every direction.The stuntwork and car chases are also a lot of fun. That this piece of cinematic history is also so much fun to watch is just a bonus.