The Rat Pack Sale
Buy The Rat Pack. They had ' 'the world on a string' '. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, known as ' 'The Rat Pack' ' set the style and the pace for 1950's America as the nation roller coastered its way towards the swinging '60s. But can the high life last forever? If Frank and the boys have their way by electing John F. Kennedy, the party has only just begun.
Hey, chicky baby--it's a cuckoo thing, ya dig? You, too, will find yourself speaking Rat Pack lingo after watching this made-for-HBO biopic about that brief and shining moment when Camelot met Hoboken-on-the-Pacific. The film does a good job of capturing the heady, anything-goes feel of the late-1950s, early-1960s era when Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and their running buddies ruled Hollywood, Las Vegas, and, it seemed, the world. The story centers on Sinatra's relationship with John F. Kennedy (William F. Petersen) before and after he was elected president. It's not particularly flattering to either man, as Sinatra pimps Kennedy into a relationship with Judith Campbell, at the same time she was the favorite consort of mob boss Sam Giancana. Ray Liotta is a forceful Sinatra (though it's not much of an impression); Joe Mantegna has the look and the sound of the surprisingly sober Dean Martin; and Don Cheadle does a great job as the racially conflicted Sammy Davis Jr. Not great cinema but it's never less than engrossing. --Marshall Fine
The Rat Pack Review
It was 1960 just before everything changed for good and Frank Sinatra experiencing a career renaissance was the king of tinsletown. L.A., Palm Springs & especially Vegas were his playgrounds and only the very lucky were allowed to play in his sandbox. Besides best buddies & hollywood legends, Dino & Sammy, mafia figures such as Mickey Cohn & Sam "Momo" Giancanna were counted among his friends. These were the guys Sinatra remained loyal to despite the damage to his career & reputation, because they gave him a break when his voice ruptured & his singing career, & marriage went south, and flipping them the bird was, let's face it, lethal. Sinatra spotted a winner & a fellow lothario, in young Senator John Kennedy and hoped to better his image by hooking his wagon to Kennedy's charismatic star.
Like most bio-pics you can't take them literally; and The Rat Pack recreates scenes of many rumored events, that nobody is left alive to confirm either way. However, Sinatra's character has been widely spoken of & written about enough by friends & associates over the years, that it does not take a giant stretch of imagination to imagine him taking a swing at a reporter who called him a "Mama's boy" or providing women to visiting politicians or mafioso. On the other hand, Sinatra was the same guy that stood up for Sammy Davis, Jr., when he received death threats for is marriage to Mai Britt, and gave funds for a new building at Hebrew University in Israel. And of course there was the voice that captured heartache, triumph, and longing for generations of people around the world. Ray Liotta, not the obvious choice, but a good one nonetheless was note perfect in his portrayal of this multi-dimensional man we called "ol blue eyes".
Joe Montegna did a fine job as the enigmatic Dean Martin, the guy we all thought we knew, but didn't. Instead of knocking them back at the bar with, in the parlance of the time, two broads on each arm, Dino was in fact sipping apple juice onstage and flying solo until he got back home to Jeannie & the 7 kids in L.A.
The film did an excellent job showing that Sammy Davis, Jr. dealt with virulent racism when on tour and the not-so-subtle racist humor on the Las Vegas stage, all with an eye to the future when African-American performers would not have to contend with this kind of bigotry. Don Cheadle was a stand-out, especially in the dance numbers which were reminiscent of Fosse's bio-pic "All That Jazz".
Lastly, Angus Macfadyen accomplished the difficult task of portraying Peter Lawford's frustration, as he became a pawn & messenger boy for Sinatra and the Kennedy's. His frustration finally bursting out when he declares "I just want to act and cheat on my wife.".
Another classy production by HBO - highly recommend.
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