Customer Reviews

The Rat Pack

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OK, so there are several problems with this 1998, sensationalist tale of Sinatra, his cronies, JFK and the mob. But, flawed as it may be, there is enough here to make it worth watching.
The major issue is the fact that Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, JFK, RFK, etc., etc. were so visible on screen back in the day and their images are forever preserved in peoples minds and memories forever. So when one sees a film like this, and they see contemporary actors playing historical figures of just a few decades ago, it doesn't always sit well with the viewer. Right off the bat, the cards were stacked against this film. Hell, in that respect it would be easier to make a film about Helen of Troy than Ol' Blue Eyes (We don't know for sure what she looked like, but we know she was attractive enough to launcha thousand ships).
The other issue was that Sinatra himself and his people tried desperately to a put a stop to this film. This is rather odd. Though he's hardly portrayed in the most positive light, he comes across much better here than he did in the 1992 miniseries which was authorized by Sinatra and produced by his daughter. Odd. At least here, Sinatra is seen as being someone who would do anything and everything for his friends.
Really, the plot focuses on Frank and the boys having the time of their lives as they quickly come together, film "Oceans Eleven," help elect Kennedy, and live large. Though their peak lasts only so long, it sure looked like a lot of fun.
Ray Liotta does a great job as the Chairman of the Board. He perfecty captures Sinatra's erratic behavior, volatile personality and borderline manic-depressive personality. He may seem, to some, like an odd choice, but check him out. You will be impressed.
Joe Mantegna tries his best to capture the essence of Dean Martin- an impossible task. While he looks and talks the part quite well, he never seems fully at ease in the role. Still, one must applaud his effort. Not even those closest to Dino knew him that well, so it can't be easy for any actor to truly get inside this enigmatic character.
Don Cheadle is quite good as Davis. Davis' voice and gestures have been so mocked over the years that it would be easy to play this character as a total caricature, but Cheadle brings tremendous heart to this role.
Speaking of caricatures, check out the Kennedy brothers! They may look the parts, but the actors are far from convincing (especially their awful faux-Boston accents).
Perhaps the real find here is Angus MacFayden as Peter Lawford. Not does he only bare a striking resemblance to him, but MacFayden seems to embody this troubled and tragic figure perfectly (Lawford was Sinatra's liason to JFK). His final confrontation with Liotta, at the very end of the film, is explosive and well worth the wait.
Critics may have reached their vedict prematurely on this film, claiming it to be a travesty and a poor depiction of somebody who is regarded as Hollywood royalty. At the end of the day, though, it is just a film and an entertaining one at that. It won't erase your memories of these pop-culture icons, but it will sure make you look at them from a different persepctive.

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.

No matter how you slice it, "The Rat Pack" is a good movie. Great performances, a very well-written script that captured the subjects beautifully, a swinging soundtrack and stylish visuals all combine to make this a fantastic film..

A better Sinatra could have been found out there, surely. Ray Liotta is a great actor in his own right, but just wasn't the right choice for this part. However, Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin and Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis, Jr. (both were nominated for Emmys) were spot-on. Mantegna was wonderfully elusive as the deadpan, enigmatic, very sober Dino, and Cheadle stole the show as the immensely conflicted Sammy. I very much enjoyed Angus MacFadyen as long-suffering Peter Lawford and, even though he appeared only one or two times, Bobby Slayton as Joey Bishop. Good performances also came from William Petersen as JFK, Megan Dodds as May Britt, and Dan O'Herlihy as the scheming Joe Kennedy. And it doesn't hurt that the makeup (Emmy-nominated also) was great--take a look at the briefly-shown old Sinatra at the beginning!

The movie tries way too hard to cover several years in a couple of hours. It completely skips any backstory (including the Pack's formation), leaves out lots of things and people, and ends far too early, cutting out the many interesting developments in the years to come; also, many key players included are downscaled, like Bishop, Monroe, and mobster Sam Giancana. Also, incredible dramatic license is taken in places, ranging from the not-so-important (like the fact that the Pack always had their hotel rooms on the same floor, and "One For My Baby" was recorded years before the end) to the major (Peter informed Frank that Kennedy wasn't coming over the phone from D.C., and Dino and Sammy weren't there, either). But, somehow, it all still works.

Plot defects aside, there are some moments of sheer brilliance; the gang's music was used in striking ways to enhance what was onscreen. Sammy's first scene, with him singing, dnacing, and playing the drums AND the trumpet, really showed the immense body of talent he possessed (arguably more than any other Pack member) and the one-man showstopper he was. The group's carousing was caught nicely with the Summit re-enactment, and the after-parties in the great segment with "Ain't That A Kick in the Head" playing while the camera enters each member's hotel room. (Dean really would settle in with a comic book and a Western on TV!) The scene with Frank sailing with JFK at Hyannis Port, when Frankie was on top of the world, had "I've Got the World on a String" playing under it (it also played over the credits). Sammy singing "I've Got You Under My Skin" to the Ku Klux Klan; the juxtaposition of the lyrics and the situation--suddenly the words aren't about love anymore, but strong hate! This is a number that will leave you reeling. The final segment, with Frank singing "One For My Baby" as we see what becomes of the Pack and all their cohorts and remember their glory days, before Frank disappears in a cloud of smoke a la his "retirement" concert in '71, is as beautiful as it is stunning. I got chills when I saw the scene with Sammy, dressed in black satin pajamas, watching racist television reports about himself in an entirely white room. And Frank's introduction, singing "Live Till I Die," is beyond words. The lyrics sum up his life so well it's scary: "Those blues I lay low/I'll make them stay low/They'll never trail over my head/I'll be a devil till I'm an angel...Gonna dance gonna fly/I'll take my chance riding high/Before my numbers up I'm gonna fill my cup..."

It may miss here and there, but all in all, "The Rat Pack" is an motion picture experience that should not be missed.

I really felt that this was a top rate movie. Yes... maybe it was too much for the 2 hours, but it was flashy and damn fun! Don Cheatle was fantastic as Sammy. Well worth the watch, especially for those younger who do not know too much about these legends.

When I heard Ray Liotta was going to play Frank Sinatra I almost died laughing. After watching the film though, I thought, who could play Sinatra? I ended up forgeting about it anyway. This is quite an amazing film. Usually these made for cable movies do little to impress me. The whole Rat Pack history is way too long for a 2 hour film which leaves lots of details missing. It examines the Rat Pack as if it were a tabloid where all the mob ties, bad tempers, political influence, and sexual encounters of the Pack were explored. It also seems to end really abruptly out of nowhere. Liotta barely passes as Sinatra but Joe Mantenga and Don Cheadle are great as Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. The television screen is lit up with lights and style during some of the performance sequeces and the music also captures a wonderful essence of the Rat Pack even though it is not the original music. When I saw that it came out on video the other day I could not stop from buying it. It is worth the money to purchase this video or the time to rent it because it is a highly enjoyable film that examines the lives of the coolest entertainers of the millenium. Check it out.

This movie is indeed good entertainment and nothing more than that. It somewhat captures the swinging late 50s and early 60s before the onslaught of the Beatles changed the music industry forever.

There are a bunch of half truths and rumors in here but the movie is fun to watch anyway if you take it with a grain of salt. For example, by early 1962, Sinatra was no longer at CAPITOL and the song ONE FOR MY BABY was recorded at CAPITOL in 1958.

None of the rat pack except maybe Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford's character closely resemble the real legends in looks and speaking voice.

As stated earlier, this is a good half truth, half fiction movie.

The Rat Pack is a movie about the love of glory and success, and the deceptions and pain that comes with it.
It tells the story of the Rat Pack, their success and problems in life and on the stage, the Untouchable Frank Sinatra and his climb to power through the mob and his political connection with The Kennedy's, his persistence and loyalty to his friends, his love to Eva Gardner and his deceptions in life.
A great entertaining movie with some good true history; perfect acting, with great sceneries from the 50' and the 60's not to mention the beautiful costumes and cars of that period.
The quality of the DVD is also perfect; no extra features unfortunately.
Recommended.
Note: After I watched this movie, I got involved in all Sinatra's music which I never was. Great music with a great voice.

This movie has several things about it that almost kill it.

I love the cast but...how do you have someone play Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin? Ray Liotta and Joe Mantegna are great actors but they're playing the Coolest King Giants of Vegas, Baby. Liotta still has that lethal edge from GOODFELLAS that he gives Sinatra a sinister presence he may or may not have had (temper, yes, but Liotta probably does violence a lot better than Frank could, sorry). And as much as I love Joe Mantegna, he fluctuates the amount of dashing Dino charm he can channel in his scenes.

Then there's the singing. Did one guy do all the singing? The Frank and Dean songs all kind of sound like one guy. I know the Sinatra family kept the filmmakers from using any original recordings but couldn't they have found any of the Vegas Rat Pack impersonators to crack at the songs?

(I saw an interview with the late Phil Hartman and he talked about how the Sinatra daughters threatened to withhold the rights to Frank for a Nestea commercial if they used Hartman to dub the voice, so I know they can be very sensitive about that kind of thing. The girls were offended at Hartman's take on Frank but I thought he was hilarious).

In spite of all this, I really enjoyed THE RAT PACK. Don Cheadle does an outstanding job as Sammy Davis Jr. while the rest of the cast is great. The script is fast-moving and covers a lot of ground, focusing on Frank's relationship with JFK but including Vegas shows, Hollywood deals, Mafia meetings, and FBI wiretaps. I could put the film in right now and watch it again--and I've seen it a half-dozen times.

The first time I saw it was one week after ABC aired a documentary about JFK and I was stunned that the doc backed up EVERYTHING in this movie. Not a lot of artistic license was played with the facts. None was needed.

In the mid-90s, some prelimenary announcements were made that Martin Scorsese was going to shoot a film version of Nick Tosches' great book about Dean Martin, DINO: LIVING HIGH IN THE DIRTY BUSINESS OF DREAMS. It was also announced that Tom Hanks would play Dino. A strange bit of casting but Hanks actually played Dean on a "Saturday Night Live" sketch and made it work (I thought so anyway). I'd also read that Hanks wanted to play the part so badly that he actually hosted a Christmas party completely in character as Dean. Dream casting notices appeared in the press that John Travolta would play Frank and Jim Carrey would be Jerry Lewis (Carrey's take on Jerry Lewis on "On Living Color" are classic).
And then nothing.
With all of those big names involved, the movie would cost more than TITANIC. As the DINO project fell apart, HBO shot and aired THE RAT PACK.

It's too bad. DINO sounded like an incredible movie.

Oh, well, at least we got something. And THE RAT PACK is a good movie.

I love, love, love this movie! I highly recommend it to any Rat Pack fan. The special features are horrible, though. I was hoping for better.

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 and may spark discussions for the rest of the night.