The Rat Pack (1998)

disgusting, overrated, pointless

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I enjoyed watching it quite a bit. Best actor there-Don Cheadle, was prob the most miscast though it was fun to watch him play Sammy. Deano was done alright by Montengna, while Lawford was shown to be a real wuss. Joey Bishop well he was just a cameo so who can say? Now Sinatra-Liotta has the attitude and manner down, but sure doesn't look like him. He's also over 6 foot while Ol' Blue Eyes was 5-9 maybe and skinny. But as Sinatra, Liotta wasn't a bad choice.You get a crash course in familiar faces/big names here: Sam Giancana, JFK, Joseph Kennedy, RFK, Marilyn, Joltin Joe, Johnny Rosselli, Ava Gardner, hmmmmm I am sure I'm leaving someone out but you get the idea. All this and some Hoover eavesdropping too! You even have allusions to J. Edgar and that infamous blackmail pic of him and Clyde Tolson, Mickey Cohen, a ludicrous scene of Sinatra trying to phone Nixon to concede the election(!) and of course, Dan O'Herlihy(from Robocop etc etc) running everything too. And yes the Klan shows. O and don't forget May Britt...Oh the buying of West Virgina primary votes and the Chicago votes by the mob too. That we all heard of as well.So was this any good?! Sure. Did I buy into it? Well...mostly. I got a kick outta Sinatra's tantrum when he found out that BING of all people was getting to host JFK instead of himself in California, and he starts to bash apart the half-finished additions to his Palm Springs mansion. Quite funny.The woman playing Ava was beautiful though Marilyn wasn't so convincing. Judith Campbell/Exner well that came off okay. Momo was shown w/ Rosselli tossing around the idea of 'whacking Frank', which hadda be a twist on things if ever there was one. This I did actually buy.Overall you will enjoy it though it did need some more of JFK's time in office, the CSI guy as JFK was a hoot. I liked their sailing scene together him and Sinatra.You won't go wrong with this if you just sit back and take it with a grain of salt.*** outta ****

I missed this on HBO and was delighted to pick it up recently. With the possible exception of Ray Liotta, the physical casting was truly well done. Liotta plays Sinatra reminiscing towards the end of his life about his golden years, his old friends in the 'Rat Pack' and his aspirations to be loved universally by helping John F Kennedy into power.What made this stand out for me is not only the wonderful recreations of the legendary on stage horseplay the Rat Pack indulged in, but also some of the private agonies, particularly those of Sammy Davies Junior, in another superb performance by Don Cheadle, who is given his own solo spectacular scene in a face off against the Ku Klux Klan.The Kennedy and Lawford association is also covered in some depth, and the Sinatra character is well rounded - we feel for him much of the time, but his personality is far from sugar coated. As a film character, he is compelling, although Ray Liotta makes little attempt to emulate Sinatra in voice or mannerisms.Joe Mantegna IS Dean Martin physically, and this helps the authenticity of the piece, but he is sadly underwritten, Gone is the hell raiser and womaniser of legend. In his place is a laconic 'Fonz', smooth with the ladies, but sleeping alone.William Petersen nails Kennedy in spite of physical differences, and the scenes with him and Sinatra seem consistent with their characters. Angus McFadyen plays a nervous Lawford, caught between using his Kennedy connections to become part of the Rat Pack and keeping Frank out of the White House. Ava Gardner also makes a brief appearance in the form of Debra Kara Unger. Aside from the unusual casting of it's lead (Aidan Quinn would have been a much more realistic choice), my only real gripe is how suddenly it all ends, while you wait for a proper conclusion. This is a wonderful glimpse into the intertwined lives of some of the highest profile people on the planet.

I enjoyed this movie. Anyone who has seen "Sinatra," starring Philip Casnoff as Sinatra, will notice this movie portrays some of the same events, only fewer in number but greater in detail. With the exception of Liotta, chosen for the part of Frank Sinatra despite the fact that he neither looks nor sounds anything like the man, the casting was marvelous. Don Cheadle makes a very good Sammy Davis, and Joe Mantegna is very believable as Dean Martin. Angus MacFayden couldn't be a more perfect choice to play Peter Lawford.

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