The Rat Pack

Rating:
Summary: The Moral of the Story Is...
Review: ...Be Careful of Whom You Go to Bed With...

Once you get past the cringe inducing casting, there's a pretty decent story of Hollywood, Vegas, Chicago, Washington, the Mob, and other not so strange bed fellows. It all but verifies how the Gang put the politician in the office and who was hot to trot for whom. It insinuates why the golden girl actress dies, why the Camelot president is shot, and what happens to the Attorney General. Sammy D. does a show stopping rendition of "I've Gto You Under My Skin" to burning crosses and Men in Capes and Robes. The Marilyn does not however recreate the "happy birthday, Mr President..." performance. Dino sees the handwriting on the wall and tries to sell his share of the corporation, the Pack gets ahold to movie scripts which expands and exploits thier Vegas escapades...yeah, dig? It's a cool, hip way to kill a few hours watching, but, the best movie on the Rat Pack is yet to come....

Rating:
Summary: Boy, do I miss Frank . . . .
Review: An entertaining, if somewhat directionless portrayal of Frank and his boys. Liotta is good as Sinatra, but you are never able to get past the fact that they look and sound nothing alike. The strongest performance belongs to Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin, who is portrayed as the only bright bulb in a rather dim pack. The story follows Frank's obsession with the Kennedy boys and his struggle to be close to Camelot. There seems to be tremendous dramatic license taken at points, often concocting fictional meetings with the likes of mob bosses, Joe DiMaggio, and the Kennedy boys in one evening. In the end, though, the touching portrait of Sinatra is of a man who led a troubled kingdom, but cared deeply for his court.

Rating:
Summary: REMEMBERING RAT PACK
Review: An other film exploiting the popularity of original Rat Pack. Being familiar with original Rat Pack is both good and bad. That's good because you can understand the movie. For someone who never heard of it, it is not easy to understand and probably enjoy this movie as it starts when their (Rat Pack members) careers were at their peak. And if you are a Rat Pack fan, it is bad because you will miss the original one, although actors have done their best to play the Rat Pack members. But it is not an easy task to play these giant entertainers. However, Angus MacFedyen's humorous approach to Peter Lawford role is very interesting. The best one is Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis, Jr. He is the closest to the original one. By the way, the bad tempered side of Frank Sinatra dominates the film and this is wrong to show the bad side of a humanbeing all the time. Yes, maybe Sinatra was not an angel, but he deserves a much better portrait in this film.

As for the sound and picture quality, relatively speaking, this DVD is one of the best DVDs in terms of these qualifications. In anyway, it is nice to remember all these great stars once again by watching this DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie - Even If A Little Hard To Follow
Review: As with most HBO productions, this movie is excellent. The story covers the lives of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and John F. Kennedy through the late 50's and early 60's. Although the focus is on these main characters,we also get the likes of Joey Bishop, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, Ava Gardner, and Sam Giancana - all portrayed wonderfully by a very talented cast.

As for the acting:

-Ray Liotta is, as always, a fantastic actor who captured the character, if not the mannerisms, of Frank Sinatra. Liotta's speaking voice is too high-pitched to make a believable transition from the many musical numbers which are performed. But he does capture the essence of Frank's on-screen persona.
-Don Cheadle is dead-on as Sammy Davis Jr. He got the moves, the speech, and the quirks all down to a science. He is clearly the most believable character.
-Joe Mantegna was, for me, the biggest disappointment of the movie. Don't get me wrong, he mastered the whole nonchalant, "not a care in the world" personality that made Dino famous. But his voice had too much of a "Barney Rubble" quality for my liking. I found it to be too distracting.
-Honorable mentions should also go out to Angus MacFadyen for his terrific portrayal of Peter Lawford, both in looks and demeanor, and also to William Petersen for his right-on imitation of JFK.

As for the plot:

The movie spins a very controversial tale. Whether it is true or not, the following is clearly implied by the script:

-Frank Sinatra is tied very closely to the mob and, as a result, was treated like a King by his peers. He also wanted desparately to be liked by JFK.
-Peter Lawford was a sad, sniveling coward in front of Frank. He comes off as being afraid of his own shadow.
-Dean Martin was a loner who kept his distance from women, politics, and organized crime. But certainly not from booze.
-Sammy Davis was fighting his own inner battle over the racist jokes that were poked at him throughout the Rat Pack gigs.
-JFK was elected as a direct result of Frank's connections with the mob. He is portrayed as a fast living playboy who loved to sleep around.

How much of this is true? I really can't say. But, one thing is for sure: This movie delivers some pretty powerful messages through its story which, to some fans of the Rat Pack, may border on being "more than we needed to know".

In Conclusion:

This is a well-made movie with many subplots and many underlying implications. In some ways, this makes the movie a little hard to follow at times. Especially when you are expecting to see a movie about entertainers - not politicians. And in the end, that's what you get the most of - politics. So, in summary, the movie is very well acted and very well written, but may be a little heavy for the average Rat Pack fan.

Rating:
Summary: great writing and supporting cast
Review: Aside from the already praised performances of the leads, I should add that the characterizations are all very good, with all the nuances of these men's relationships with each other well performed. The guy who played Peter Lawford deserves a mark, I think, for his portrayal of the simpering, not very talented friend who nonetheless had Kennedy connections. The mob sub-plot is kind of silly, given what we've seen before, but probably necessary for drama. The Kennedy stuff is fun, especially their scheming old man, although Marilyn Monroe is played like a zombie.

One complaint: Frank is basically "between women" here, and the lack of a strong female character shows. But all-in-all, well-written by Kario Salem, who played a hippyesque half-breed Marcel Pasquinel in the 70s mini-series "Centennial." And the music swings, baby...

Rating:
Summary: terrific entertainment
Review: Chris Dudley must be a famous movie maker, that's why he knows so much more about making films than the people who made this piece of terrific entertainment. Why, this film doesn't "focus" on how each one of them became famous. It spends too much time on Sinatra, when really we all wanted to see more of Peter Lawford. At least Dudley knows how to spell "non-sequitur" but either he doesn't understand it or doesn't get why the lyrics to the song "I'm Gonna Live" perfectly presage the extracts from the life of its singer, Frank Sinatra, we're about to see.

Dudley doesn't want a movie, he wanted a 10-hour mini-series.

What we got was fun and exciting, with several scenes you will remember forever (at least I will), not just because it's like you're watching the real history we never knew at the time, but because they are well played and paced. For example, the scene in a nightclub with Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Marilyn Monroe, Joe Dimaggio, and Jack and Bobby Kennedy sitting at a big table, with Judy Campbell (later to become Exner) sitting at a small table off to the side, with mobsters Johnny Roselli and Mickey Cohen over there, is extraordinary. The "High Hopes" number was great, and yes it did happen. The meeting between Joe Kennedy and Sinatra where the Kennedy clan patriarch directs Sinatra to ditch the blacklisted writer he had hired and to get his mob pals to help "win" the West Virginia primary is all the more powerful for being so brief. Frank's passionate argument with Ava showed how much two people who really love each other can hurt the other. How much more can you reasonably ask from a 2 hour TV movie, or indeed from any movie?

I didn't see this until just the other day and I damn near stayed up all night just to watch it, and it takes something arresting to grab my attention and keep it that late at night when I really had no intention of seeing the sun come up.

Rating:
Summary: terrific entertainment
Review: Chris Dudley must be a famous movie maker, that's why he knows so much more about making films than the people who made this piece of terrific entertainment. Why, this film doesn't "focus" on how each one of them became famous. It spends too much time on Sinatra, when really we all wanted to see more of Peter Lawford. At least Dudley knows how to spell "non-sequitur" but either he doesn't understand it or doesn't get why the lyrics to the song "I'm Gonna Live" perfectly presage the extracts from the life of its singer, Frank Sinatra, we're about to see.

Dudley doesn't want a movie, he wanted a 10-hour mini-series.

What we got was fun and exciting, with several scenes you will remember forever (at least I will), not just because it's like you're watching the real history we never knew at the time, but because they are well played and paced. For example, the scene in a nightclub with Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Marilyn Monroe, Joe Dimaggio, and Jack and Bobby Kennedy sitting at a big table, with Judy Campbell (later to become Exner) sitting at a small table off to the side, with mobsters Johnny Roselli and Mickey Cohen over there, is extraordinary. The "High Hopes" number was great, and yes it did happen. The meeting between Joe Kennedy and Sinatra where the Kennedy clan patriarch directs Sinatra to ditch the blacklisted writer he had hired and to get his mob pals to help "win" the West Virginia primary is all the more powerful for being so brief. Frank's passionate argument with Ava showed how much two people who really love each other can hurt the other. How much more can you reasonably ask from a 2 hour TV movie, or indeed from any movie?

I didn't see this until just the other day and I damn near stayed up all night just to watch it, and it takes something arresting to grab my attention and keep it that late at night when I really had no intention of seeing the sun come up.

Rating:
Summary: terrific entertainment
Review: Chris Dudley must be a famous movie maker, that's why he knows so much more about making films than the people who made this piece of terrific entertainment. Why, this film doesn't "focus" on how each one of them became famous. It spends too much time on Sinatra, when really we all wanted to see more of Peter Lawford. At least Dudley knows how to spell "non-sequitur" but either he doesn't understand it or doesn't get why the lyrics to the song "I'm Gonna Live" perfectly presage the extracts from the life of its singer, Frank Sinatra, we're about to see.

Dudley doesn't want a movie, he wanted a 10-hour mini-series.

What we got was fun and exciting, with several scenes you will remember forever (at least I will), not just because it's like you're watching the real history we never knew at the time, but because they are well played and paced. For example, the scene in a nightclub with Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Marilyn Monroe, Joe Dimaggio, and Jack and Bobby Kennedy sitting at a big table, with Judy Campbell (later to become Exner) sitting at a small table off to the side, with mobsters Johnny Roselli and Mickey Cohen over there, is extraordinary. The "High Hopes" number was great, and yes it did happen. The meeting between Joe Kennedy and Sinatra where the Kennedy clan patriarch directs Sinatra to ditch the blacklisted writer he had hired and to get his mob pals to help "win" the West Virginia primary is all the more powerful for being so brief. Frank's passionate argument with Ava showed how much two people who really love each other can hurt the other. How much more can you reasonably ask from a 2 hour TV movie, or indeed from any movie?

I didn't see this until just the other day and I damn near stayed up all night just to watch it, and it takes something arresting to grab my attention and keep it that late at night when I really had no intention of seeing the sun come up.

Rating:
Summary: Great movie
Review: Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis Jr - absolute perfection in the role! It really grabs you, and does not let go. Joe Mantegna does an excellent job as portraying Dean Martin as well. Ray Liotta does as good of a job as any one could have as Frank Sinatra. And he deserves credit for having the courage to even take on the role! It isn't a stellar performance on Ray Liotta's part, but when you bring Liotta, Cheadle and Mantegna together - you forget all about Liotta's shortcomings. And honestly, no one could have pulled off Frank, other than.. Frank. (Nothing near the catastrophe of Jennifer Love Hewitt as Audrey Hepburn!) I enjoyed the movie very much! Especially the performances in Vegas! I laughed so hard tears were rolling down my cheeks. It is too bad it was only 2 hours, these actors together could have pulled off a riveting series. I took away a star due to Barbara Niven's performance as Marilyn Monroe. Where she did catch Marilyn's dark and cynical side, she had none of Marilyn's softness or sensuality - to a distraction. Luckily she has a very small role in this film. Had her part been any larger, I might not have finished watching the film. Which would have been a huge discredit to the amazing performances of the other actors.

Rating:
Summary: The Rat Pack : Myth and Legend ?
Review: Having seen the film , the DVD , and the UK stage show I can recommend the DVD . Nothing is lost on the home viewer by watching it at home. Just make sure you switch up the sound. It is the fantastic vocal sequences which really capture the essence , of the period.

The screen writer may have taken a few liberties with history: but are we really that sure? His account of how Sinatra and friends rose to fame is interesting , to say the least ,but will shock few ,who are already students of mid-twentieth century history.

The film was citicised because of its interpretation of the JFK assasination. But such an important event still needs to remain under public scrutiny. For I am sure we have yet to discover the truth . Director , Rob Cohen, makes sure it remains that way. The result is an entertaining , and possibly, informative film , that really does make the viewer question the Establishments explanation , of events , surrounding the deaths of some major cultural and political figures, at a time , when the fate of the World , was literally in the balance.

If you have surround sound then you have no real excuse for depriving yourself of such a treat. If you haven't buy the DVD anyway . It's great to watch with friends . Just be prepared to stay up late debating the films perspective of events.