Sadly, this one got my head spinning. In a nutshell HBO's "The Rat Pack" is a movie more about Sinatra, Martin, Lawford, Davis Jr. And company building a
campaign for JFK than about the group itself. Rob Cohen's film is so fast and furious that it predates what would become his box-office hit in 2001 and one has to
wonder what he was thinking with a story so rushed and impatient, or better, what was writer Karno Salem was thinking. Real life figures with a huge number of events following them, from Marilyn Monroe,
Kennedy's, Hollywood and the mafia could only be told with some required patience that just a miniseries can obtain. A tv movie is destined to fail, even though the
main focus was entirely the campaign and how in some ways it destroyed the group due to Sinatra vs. Lawford bit. And I wonder: was Rat Pack formed really JUST to make presidential rallies? Some fun and money
on the way, obviously presented in the "Ocean's Eleven" (1960) sequence where the director was more worried about the film's result, getting the best shot than the cast were.
While the script doesn't help almost anyone it's almost impossible to accept the movie's cast with plastified versions of towering and potent figures of that golden era.
While some embody the spirit and mannerisms, others fail spectaculary to the point of being true hacks. Ray Liotta does not convince as Sinatra, it looks Henry Hill got classier since he plays Frank as an agressive fella all the time; the Kennedy's William Petersen and Zeljko Ivanek were laughable, uncharismatic and I can't comment on Lawford - though some viewers found the actor plaiying too Welsh (and I wonder: was he really too much of a wimp as portrayed?). However, on a positive note Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin, and Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis Jr. Were highly enjoyable. They got the feeling, the rhythm and the mannerisms quite right - Mantegna's punch deliveries were hilarious all the way.
Where's the spectacle those men created in the late 1950's and early 1960's? There's no magic, just controversy and some selfish acts. The themes dealing with friendship loyalty, standing by your friend no matter what was really great - the bits between Sinatra and Davis Jr. When of the infamous marriage of the latter. But what dominates the fim is JFK's concern with women and sex rather than the political game so one may wonder why he'd be a change in the game for America since he's all about wet dreams coming true. It's more about gossip and shallow things rather than the group's accomplishments, factual things and it's all slighly enjoyable because half of the period's essence and class is there.
Weak experience with some highlights here and there. I just hope one day there'll be a miniseries about it or better people involved in the making. 5/10.
While the script doesn't help almost anyone it's almost impossible to accept the movie's cast with plastified versions of towering and potent figures of that golden era.
While some embody the spirit and mannerisms, others fail spectaculary to the point of being true hacks. Ray Liotta does not convince as Sinatra, it looks Henry Hill got classier since he plays Frank as an agressive fella all the time; the Kennedy's William Petersen and Zeljko Ivanek were laughable, uncharismatic and I can't comment on Lawford - though some viewers found the actor plaiying too Welsh (and I wonder: was he really too much of a wimp as portrayed?). However, on a positive note Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin, and Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis Jr. Were highly enjoyable. They got the feeling, the rhythm and the mannerisms quite right - Mantegna's punch deliveries were hilarious all the way.
Where's the spectacle those men created in the late 1950's and early 1960's? There's no magic, just controversy and some selfish acts. The themes dealing with friendship loyalty, standing by your friend no matter what was really great - the bits between Sinatra and Davis Jr. When of the infamous marriage of the latter. But what dominates the fim is JFK's concern with women and sex rather than the political game so one may wonder why he'd be a change in the game for America since he's all about wet dreams coming true. It's more about gossip and shallow things rather than the group's accomplishments, factual things and it's all slighly enjoyable because half of the period's essence and class is there.
Weak experience with some highlights here and there. I just hope one day there'll be a miniseries about it or better people involved in the making. 5/10.