It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Reviewer

Widely regarded as the ensemble screwball comedy, "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World" has had many parodies and imitations over the years. You're probably already familiar with it's premise; a group of people, driven by greed, try to beat each other to a hidden sum of money buried somewhere in southern California. Hilarity, or what is supposed to be hilarity, ensues on their adventure and it all culminates with... well, I'm not going to ruin it. Not completely, anyways.

Having finally sat down and watched the source material for so many other shows and movies I've seen over the years I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed. Perhaps it's because the idea wasn't as fresh as it was back then or that I've seen the gags so many times before. But more than anything, I think it's just because the film is too darn long. The film would have had a lot more charm and impact if the editing choices were a little tighter. For example, a semi-funny brawl occurs at a gas station between two mechanics trying to restrain one of the protagonists whom they assume is insane. Not bad, except the scene is about 7 minutes long; 5 minutes longer than it should have been. The entire movie suffers from episodes like this.

At the end of the day, which may be when you finish the movie after taking breaks to pursue more interesting activities, you'll realize all isn't bad, but enough of it is to wonder why you invested so much time in such a mediocre film.

Grade = C