Film

Monte Carlo or Bust!

A 1969 international car rally comedy where an ensemble cast of national stereotypes races from England to Monte Carlo. Think *It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World* meets *The Great Race*—high-spirited, chaotic, and stuffed with slapstick and pratfalls. For anyone who loves ensemble comedies where plot is an excuse for spectacle and mishap.

TMDb rating3.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love slapstick set-pieces strung along a long road trip, the gleeful, car-crash kind of farce where a cast of mugging stars keeps the old-fashioned gags coming.

Skip it if your patience for gags is thin, since the comedy leans on broad, repetitive vehicle mishaps and a runtime of over two hours for a story that stays very light.

What it asks of you: A long, episodic ride: the plot is a loose route rather than a tight engine, so you need to enjoy wandering with it for just over two hours.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World1963

The godfather of this kind of comedy: a cross-country race with a cast so stacked it feels like an all-star game. Same anarchic energy, same commitment to physical comedy and collision.

But Three hours of unrelenting spectacle can exhaust rather than delight. Not every joke lands, and it was made when pacing was a suggestion.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World poster

The Great Race1965

Blake Edwards directing Tony Curtis in a globe-trotting competition comedy. The same DNA as *Monte Carlo*—impossibly elaborate set pieces, international locations, comedy as visual invention.

But Wildly uneven. The tone whipsaws between slapstick and sentimentality. At 2.5 hours, patience required.

The Great Race poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Monte Carlo or Bust!

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Smiles of a Summer Night1955

Both are ensemble comedies built on the pleasure of watching intelligent, attractive people trapped in increasingly elaborate situations. The engine is the same; one runs on slapstick, one on desire and social awkwardness.

Bergman's comedy of errors: a country-house comedy where the plot is a machine designed to throw sophisticated people into ridiculous situations. Same carnival spirit, but operating at opera rather than slapstick.

But Slow-paced, theatrical, and interested in psychology and desire rather than pratfalls. The opposite of *Monte Carlo*'s velocity.

Smiles of a Summer Night poster
More like this (8)

Barbarella1968

Same year, same spirit of cheerful absurdity. A space romp with a game cast and production design that prioritizes fun over logic. The comedic register feels like a spiritual sibling.

But The sexual politics are of their time—it can feel dated or uncomfortable depending on your tolerance for '60s camp.

Barbarella poster

The Italian Job1969

Released the same year, also features an international heist comedy with cars, charm, and an ensemble where each character gets a moment. Tighter plotting, more style.

But It's the cooler, more competent cousin—which means it can make *Monte Carlo* look like enthusiastic chaos.

The Italian Job poster

Carry On Up the Khyber1968

British ensemble comedy with similar DNA: a game cast playing national types for laughs, physical humour, and the same ''let's throw everything at the wall'' philosophy.

But Carries period attitudes about race and empire that will make many viewers uncomfortable. It's brash about it.

Carry On Up the Khyber poster

A Shot in the Dark1964

Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers in a comedy of mishap and farce. If you love the *Monte Carlo* brand of ''everything goes wrong in interesting ways,'' this is the template.

But Sellers' slapstick is an acquired taste, and the plot is almost irrelevant. It's performance over substance.

A Shot in the Dark poster

The Party1968

Blake Edwards again, another comedy of collision and chaos. Released just before *Monte Carlo*, same sensibility: elaborate set pieces, ensemble confusion, physical comedy taken seriously.

But It's essentially a one-joke film stretched to feature length. The novelty wears thin unless you're fully invested in sight gags.

The Party poster

Viva Las Vegas1964

Elvis in a brightly coloured, plot-light comedy about a race. Not as ambitious as *Monte Carlo*, but the same spirit: fun, ridiculous, unashamed of its own silliness.

But It's an Elvis film from the '60s. If that premise doesn't appeal, nothing here will convert you.

Viva Las Vegas poster

Andromeda Nebula1967

Both treat international cooperation and chaos as comedy. Both feature ensemble casts from different nations working in concert toward a goal. Both are more interested in the spectacle of failure and mishap than in resolving plot cleanly.

A Soviet space-adventure comedy you've never heard of. Colorful, weird, earnestly absurd, with an international crew muddling through cosmic mishaps. The spirit of *Monte Carlo*—optimistic, chaotic, visually inventive—applied to a different register.

But It's a Soviet film with a slow build, subtitles, and a different comedic tempo. The pacing can feel alien. Some sequences feel unfinished.

Andromeda Nebula poster

Eat My Dust1976

Both films prioritize cars, speed, and collision over character development or coherent plot. Both are comedies of motion and spectacle. But where *Monte Carlo* is international prestige comedy, *Eat My Dust* is working-class American thrash—the same DNA expressed at different social altitudes.

A B-movie car-racing comedy that takes the energy of *Monte Carlo* and strips it down to punk speed and low budget. A teenager, a hopped-up car, mayhem ensuing. Raw, dumb, unashamed joy.

But It's genuinely cheap and rough-edged. The acting is not professional. It plays like a stunt reel with dialogue added later.

Eat My Dust poster

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