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<\/p>\nIt says a lot about a movie when it can have as many problems as It\u2019s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World <\/i>does and still be wildly entertaining.\u00a0 The characters are underdeveloped, the motivations are unclear and only kind of believable, but it\u2019s downright hilarious.\u00a0 It is the superior predecessor to This is the End <\/i>in terms of all-star cast and cameos.\u00a0 It is, however, a daunting 3 hours and 30 minutes, and hits a considerable second act lull.\u00a0 This would kill any average movie, but It\u2019s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World <\/i>is not an average movie.\u00a0 Every scene pays off with a laugh, every interaction is memorable.\u00a0 An unexpected action comedy, it is beautifully shot, with equally hilarious and impressive stunts.<\/p>\n
When a group of strangers witness a car wreck, they learn from the dying man of a treasure buried under a \u201cW.\u201d\u00a0 The next three hours follows the ensemble racing each other to reach the money first.\u00a0 So, here\u2019s a map to help you follow the many storylines of It\u2019s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.<\/i><\/p>\n
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It all begins with Smiler, a thief who crashes his car at the beginning of the movie.\u00a0 As he lies on the rocks, surrounded by the strangers who witnessed his wreck, he tells them of $350,000 buried beneath a \u201cW\u201d in Santa Rosita Park.\u00a0 Unknown to the witnesses, he\u2019s wanted for a tuna factor robbery, and had been tailed by the police for years.<\/p>\n
He literally kicks a bucket when he dies.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/scadradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Its_a_Mad_Mad_Mad_Mad_World_Trailer12.jpg\")
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At the end of his career, he\u2019s leading the search for Smiler Grogan.\u00a0 While trying to keep tabs on the witnesses as they lead him to the buried treasure, he struggles with keeping the peace between his angry wife and daughter.<\/p>\n
With an exasperated and exhausted look, he holds two phones up to each other.\u00a0 One line is his angry wife, the other is his crying daughter.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/scadradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/large_its_a_mad_mad_mad_mad_world_from_web-detail-main.jpg\")
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As great as Milton Berle is as the timid, \u201cbad driver,\u201d Russell, Ethel Merman steals every scene as his loud-mouthed mother-in-law, Ms. Marcus. \u00a0She can be summed up in a single Buddy Hackett line as Benjy, \u201cMay you just DROP DEAD!\u201d Ms. Marcus is obnoxious, loud, forceful, and cutting. They hitch a ride with Lt. Col. J. Algernon Hawthorne (Terry-Thomas) who\u2019s studying desert fauna, and together, the four make up what is possibly the funniest pairing of the movie.<\/span><\/p>\n When Ms. Marcus and Emmeline leave the men to go off on their own, they enlist the help of Emmeline\u2019s brother and Ms. Marcus\u2019 son, the mama\u2019s boy, speedo-sporting, Sylvester (Dick Shawn).<\/span><\/p>\n Sylvester, speeding down a hill, his car soaring, wiping away tears and crying, \u201cI\u2019m coming Mama!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Russell and Lt. Col. Hawthorne\u2019s fist fight. \u00a0It\u2019s not often that you see two people who have never been in a fight before fight each other. \u00a0Here\u2019s a sneak peek: Milton Berle accidentally kicks a rock instead of kicking Terry-Thomas.<\/span><\/p>\n On their second honeymoon, dentist Melville Crump and Monica Crump are the couple you would hate to meet on a cruise. \u00a0Flaunting his dentist credentials, Melville Crump is always trying to be in charge. Whether it\u2019s creating a convoluted system of splitting the money between the witnesses, or trying to break out of a basement, Melville Crump is never the hero he wants to be. \u00a0At least he has a doting wife. I guess.<\/span><\/p>\n After paying a man to fly them to Santa Rosita in a rickety plane, Melville Crump nearly destroys the plane mid-flight while trying to kill a bug. \u00a0It starts out funny, but when his feet fall through the floor, it\u2019s hilarious.<\/span><\/p>\n A pairing for the ages, the two friends were on a trip to Vegas when they got side tracked. \u00a0Their downfall? They decide to fly to Santa Rosita in a drunk millionaire\u2019s plane. When they accidentally knock out the millionaire, it\u2019s their job to keep the plane in flight. \u00a0Both Rooney and Hackett are comedy geniuses as they try to land the plane for what feels like\u2014and probably is\u2014the majority movie.<\/span><\/p>\n Air Traffic Control struggling to explain how to land the plane. \u00a0With the mic cable wrapped around him, the controller falls out of the tower, dangling by the cord, still trying to direct Dingy and Benjy to the runway.<\/span><\/p>\n The only witness working alone, he was driving a moving truck when the race began. \u00a0With the greatest character arc of the movie, we watch him transform from a reserved driver looking for some cash into a raving lunatic. \u00a0His first mistake was asking for the help of Otto Meyer (Phil Silvers), who abandoned Lennie after he was told of the treasure. His second mistake was confronting Otto Meyer at the gas station.<\/span><\/p>\n What started as an attempt to beat up Otto Meyer, quickly turns into a maniacal tirade as Lennie Pike destroys an entire gas station while trying to catch up to the two geeky attendants. \u00a0It\u2019s entirely unmotivated with no context. It makes no sense. But oh God, it\u2019s side-splitting funny. Just watch it, because you will never see a man lose it as badly as Lennie Pike.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World<\/em> is a classic because it\u2019s still, after all these years, it\u2019s still a riot. \u00a0The cameos might not hold the same thrill as they once did, but that doesn\u2019t matter. (Although, The Three Stooges cameo still gets me.) \u00a0It\u2019s a farce, a comedic look at greed. Everyone\u2019s insane, and everyone wants the money, but most importantly, there\u2019s a little bit of all of us in the characters. \u00a0It gives us a chance to laugh out ourselves, which is a good thing.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It says a lot about a movie when it can have as many problems as It\u2019s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World does and still be wildly entertaining.\u00a0 The characters are underdeveloped, the motivations are unclear and only kind of believable, but it\u2019s downright hilarious.\u00a0 It is the superior predecessor to This is the End […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":2275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[258],"tags":[252,315,100,47],"yoast_head":"\nThe Highlights<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/scadradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/mad3.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMelville Crump (Sid Caesar) and Monica Crump (Edie Adams)<\/h3>\n
The Highlight<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/scadradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/itsamadmadmadmadworld_naturalbornflyer_FC_HD_2997_WithCCs_470x264_111320151038.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDingy (Mickey Rooney) and Benjy (Buddy Hackett)<\/h3>\n
The Highlight<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/scadradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/2014-03-03-MadWorld3-thumb.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLennie Pike (Jonathon Winters)<\/h3>\n
The Highlight<\/h3>\n