THE GREAT RACE (1965) **1/2 For twenty minutes Blake Edwards establishes such a high level of low humor that even he can't sustain it. Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk collectively create the template for some of the greatest minds of the late 20th century including Dick Dastardly, Wile E. Coyote, and Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams. Tony Curtis' pronunciation of auto-mobile is one of the wittiest endowments in the history of enunciations, and Natalie Wood adds a feminine/feminist touch that urges men to emancipate women, so that women can emancipate men, and we can all emancipate each other. Well, who could want anything but that? Sadly, although the wheels never entirely come off, the film gets bogged down in a series of clichés of which the great pie fight is the most moving and emblematic. Even though the plot goes off the track Blake keeps things looking good, and the stars are all appealing enough that you're perfectly willing to forgive their being involved in what would be accelerating disappointment if it wasn't still so enjoyable. Lots of cool people around the periphery-Vivian Vance, Keenan Wynn, and Denver Pyle (Uncle Jesse from "The Dukes of Hazzard") cast entirely against his most celebrated role, as a lawman. It ends up going way too long, but you're never without hope because of the likelihood that Tony will say auto-mobile again, Falk will sabotage himself further, Lemmon will make a ridiculous noise, or Natalie will philosophize.
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