The Rat Pack (1998)

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The story is good and certainly made me think about maybe why and by whom John and Bobby Kennedy as well as Marilyn Monroe were killed! But that's a side point. Not a bad film but the casting director needs to be shot! Don Cheadle, as Sammy Davis is probably the most convincing and I am sure it was no easy task to capture the highly talented Mr Davis Jr, especially the dancing. The racism and the obvious pain of Sammy really came through. Angus MacFadyen's Lawford is not too bad and is second to Don Cheadle's performance. From there the casting goes really off....Joe Mantegna captures something of Dean Martin's character but is not as handsome or charming enough. William L. Petersen, looks and sounds nothing like JFK and portrays him as a shallow, weak character.Then we come to the worst casting in the whole film. Ray Liotta looks not even close to Sinatra, he is much too tall, and even worse he fails to carry himself like him and his speaking voice is just awful, he sounds like a squeaky teenager most of the time. this would not be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that he is the main character in this film and at times you even forget that he is supposed to be Sinatra.So with a better cast this could have been a superb film but it is not.

I've given a lot of thought to this movie and, in all honesty, I can't think of anything in particular to critique about it. Revolving around the relationship between the famous "Rat Pack" of the 1960's (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop) and focusing heavily on their relationship with the Kennedy's, this is a very entertaining, well-done film that provided a peek at the lives of the 1960's Hollywood jet-set. In addition to the Rat Pack and the Kennedy's we get glimpses of Marilyn Monroe (Barbara Niven) and Joe DiMaggio (John Diehl,) and a look at the involvement of organized crime.The performances are strong. Ray Liotta was a standout as Sinatra, but no less compelling were Joe Mantegna as Martin and Angus MacFadyen as Lawford. Bobby Slayton as Joey Bishop was less central to the story, but pulled off the character well. Only Don Cheadle (as Davis) seemed to not quite grasp his character, but he still managed a good performance. The intricacies of the relationship between the five (particularly between Sinatra and Lawford) are detailed and everything seems very natural. Is this really the way it was? I don't know. Only these five would know for sure, but the movie seemed plausible and was an entertaining evening - another success for HBO in my opinion.10/10. Really. I found it fascinating stuff.

The movie "The Rat Pack" is definitely unexpected and that is not necessarilly a good thing.I saw the movie soon after hearing that the surviving rat pack members did not want any part of cameo appearences in the Ocean's Eleven remake because "their Rat Pack was able having fun (and making movies in the process and that the "new" Rat Pack for the movie is just a bunch of "non-friend guys" to make a buck)". Maybe this was just rumor and I'm sure the quote is a bit off, but still THEY WERE ABOUT FUN.Therefore, I was really surprised to see a movie that was anything but fun. If anything this is a political biopic. It focuses on an older/aging Sinatra and how he loses his friends my not playing with the rules. This is an interesting twist and I could see it being interesting if you are looking for it.In all I guess the movie shows that (and how) it could be said that Sinatra played big and won big (in Casino logic), but he kept playing big and eventually the house took him.Aside from being a "non-fun" movie (I mean I can deal with educational or mind-provoking, but) the actors or at least the make-up is just off. Half of the rat pack does not appear to look like the Rat Pack. I just cannot buy that Dean Martin is in the movie and Frank Sinatra is even a Stretch. Don Cheadle on the other hand does a great Sammy Davis Jr. and the true bits about his life are at least interesting.I must have missed something at the beginning of the film though as I could not tell if the movie was a flashback or just during the turbulent period of the Rat Pack's life.I guess I'd recommend the parts of this movie that deal with the fun aspects of the Pack (the movies and the singing). The "Ocean's 11 (1960)" snipits are great, but I would not take a gamble on the rest.Rating: 5

"The Rat Pack" was a fairly good film. There were some squabbles over the casting but there's only so far that you can go with a film. Ray Liotta does a fairly good portrayal of Old Blue Eyes by playing him off as a cocky, brash, fast living human being with a penchant for being connected. The always good Don Cheadle portrays Sammy Davis as a human torn apart by bigotry during those days. Angus MacFayden, despite the fact that he looks like Peter Lawford when he was a teenager, is good at playing Lawford as an adulterer and reluctant political confidant to Sinatra. Joey Bishop lookalike Bobby Slayton has all the mannerisms and the look of Bishop himself. Joe Mantegna once again delivers portraying Dino as the real confidant to Sinatra who kept the middle ground between Sinatra and everything else. The film focuses on the Rat Pack's glory days as well as it's tie to the Kennedy family. It's very good despite how short the film is. The only problem I have is that it stops abruptly and doesn't continue on about the Rat Pack, how it's days ended and what not. Other than that, The Rat Pack is a satisfying rental for any fan.