Jeff84VW

I remember seeing this on HBO a while back, but missed so much. This is certainly a movie that COULD NOT come out while Frank was still alive. They pretty much label him as part of the reason JFK was killed.

Everyone should see this one. Great flick.

DVDer

I saw "The Rat Pack" when it premiered on HBO, and liked it. Don Cheadle's performance as Sammy Davis Jr. was excellent.

--Heather

jligon

I endured about an hour of this movie and it haunted me for nearly two months. I'm sorry, but this is the most ridiculous movie I've ever seen in my entire life. I won't even let myself bother to explain why I hated this movie. I'm in pain right now thinking about this miserable experience.

-Jon

Jeff84VW

Hoo ahh!! We got a hot one here boys!

jligon - When you feel up to it, please share your thoughts about the movie. I'm curious now...

DVDer

Aside from my liking towards Cheadle's performance, I thought the casting bordered on bad (to this day their casting choices puzzle me). And the writing was cheesy. And yet I still watched all of it...uh oh, I'm scaring myself! Not as good as other HBO movies, like "Gia" and "A Lesson Before Dying," but I found it endearing in it's mediocrity. Just my $.03.

--Heather

jligon

Are you serious about this movie. What could you possibly have liked? I big fat-headed Frank Sinatra? A constantly self-pitying Sammy Davis Jr.? A milk-drinking celibate Dean Martin? A wimpy Joe Dimagio?
Or was it the dialog that appealed to you? Marilyn Monroe "You know, the guy that wrote Death of a Mailman." John F. Kennedy to Sinatra "Which one do you want, the blonde?"
Please don't get me started. My pulse is racing as I type. My feeling is that anyone who enjoyed this movie (Siskel & Ebert included) must have had no appreciation for the talents that it portrayed.

"Vote for Kennedy!"

-Jon

Jeff84VW

Good points - bad casting, not great acting.
I'm not black, and I haven't done any research on Sammy Davis Jr - BUT - I bet Don Cheadle DID. He probably acted according to how Sammy Davis Jr. actually was (I hope anyways - it made sense to me). Joe Mantenga (sp?) did a great job as Dean Martin. Played the part very much like the real Deano. Liotta was probably the worst of them.

However - the most important aspect of this movie to me was its historic significance. It really made me ask a lot of questions. Did Sinatra do all those things? Did he help JFK get elected? Some answers are clear, some are not. But, it was a good piece of art, I felt. It makes ya think!

Having said that, I rest.


Jeff (taking jabs left and right....)

classícman

The overacting in this film was unbelievable, and the worst offender was Cheadle. He made Richard Dix's performance in Cimmaron look like gross underacting.

codefree

I also saw this movie back when it first premeired on HBO. I liked it even though I could give a rat's ass about the life's it portrayed. One of these days I'll get around to picking up the DVD.

I read that when it came out someone (I forget just who) in Sinatra's family sent Ray Liotta a fake horseshead. He signed it and sent it back. My kinda humor I guess.

------------------
~ Chad

Chad & Simone's DVD List
"Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here." - Jack Nicholson, As Good As It Gets

jligon

What appealed to you if you "didn't give a rat's ass about the life's it portrayed?" The music? The comedy? The sleeziness?

-Jon

codefree

I loved Ray Liotta in GoodFellas & Unlawful Entry.

Jeff84VW

Yeah, it was Nancy Sinatra (wife) that sent Liotta the horse head. Funny...I wonder if he woke up and found it in his bed...ha.