THE RAT PACK is an entertaining made for HBO-TV movie chronicling that famous group of entertainers, led by ol' blue eyes, who ruled Hollywood and Las Vegas stages for years and made their presence felt in the political arena as well. Whether or not the facts presented here are accurate, only the actually parties involved can say, but, according to this particular screenplay, Sinatra was a powerful Svengali who controlled and manipulated the lives and careers of Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop and even wielded quite a bit of influence on our 35th President, JFK and his brother Bobby. Martin is presented as a drunk who allowed Sinatra to lead him around by the nose and Davis is presented as a milquetoast who wouldn't make any move in his career or personal life without Sinatra's approval. Lawford comes off as a doormat who was shoved to the forefront to cover Sinatra's butt in embarrassing situations. Ray Liotta works hard, but fails to convince as Sinatra, but Joe Montegna is superb as Martin, as is Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis Jr. Angyus McFadden is convincing as Peter Lawford and comic Bobby Slayton makes the most of the thankless role of Joey Bishop. William Petersen does a charismatic turn as JFK as does Zeljko Ivanek as RFK. Barbara Niven also shines in a brief appearance as Marilyn Monroe. If you're looking for an accurate recounting of the activities of this notorious circle of friends, this is probably not the place to go and if you're looking for a portrait of them as fun loving innocent entertainers, you won't find that either and I can pretty much guarantee that Sinatra fans will not be enamored of the way their idol is portrayed here, but if you're looking for a glance into a group of Hollywood insiders about which a lot is unknown, it might be worth the rental.
Review of The Rat Pack
The Rat Pack
(1998 TV Movie)
Are the facts accurate? Who Knows? Is it fun to watch? Absolutely!
22 May 2007