The Rat Pack Review
As my wife is a Sinatra fan, it was only a matter of time before I ended up seeing this. And since it was somehow only $4 at Wal-Mart, you can bet that matter of time just happened. Ray Liotta, Don Cheadle, and Joe Mantenga star in this film, portraying their counterparts (Sinatra, Davis Jr., & Dean Martin respectively) rather convincingly.
This film is not so much about the Rat Pack as it is about Sinatra and the help he offered to get John F. Kennedy elected as President of the United States. JFK is portrayed by none other than Gil Grissom from CSI. At any rate, the rest of the Rat Pack is only lightly touched upon as Sinatra is followed around almost constantly. But then, what do you expect? He practically owned the other guys.
Here's the breakdown:
The Good:
--The acting is superb, Liotta is a mind-blowingly convincing Sinatra.
--Good story and nice focus on character development.
--Based on actual events, always makes for a good movie. Complex story.
--For a lot of people, this music will be right up their alley. Not my taste, personally, but not bad stuff. If you like it, you'll love it here.
--Generally good cinematography and atmosphere.
Didn't Hurt It, Didn't Help:
--The music appears to be lip-synched from actual performers rather than our actors. I haven't yet double-checked whether or not this is so, but it didn't hurt anything.
--Only mild violence, mostly culled from Sinatra's attitude.
--A lot of focus on Sinatra helping get Kennedy elected and the consequences of his doing so in his life and in relation to the attack against Mobsters.
--The opening seemed a little needless, and the conclusion never again revisited it.
The Bad:
--A bit too much character development just on Sinatra, quite a bit on his relationships that get him involved with the Kennedy's, and some focus on Sammy Davis, Jr. Everyone else, however, is hardly touched upon. Might as well have been titled the "Sinatra Pack." And yes, I am aware of how big a role he played in everything, I just think we could've gotten to know the other guys a bit more.
--With all the women out there that can so perfectly reflect Marilyn Monroe, why did they settle with the woman they picked here?? She's about the only real disappointment.
The Ugly:
--One would be quite surprised at the level of racism Sammy Davis Jr. had to endure for his position.
Memorable Scene:
--Whenever you see those less-than-respectable bits of JFK. No wonder he was on his way to impeachment before his assassination.
--When Nixon was referred to as "Hip."
Fun Fact:
--Don Cheadle stars in this as Sammy Davis Jr. who eventually stars in "Ocean's 11." Don Cheadle also had a role in the remake of "Ocean's 11."
Acting: 9/10 Story: 8/10 Atmosphere: 8/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Character Development: 8/10 Special Effects/Make-up: 0/10 Nudity/Sexuality: 3/10 Violence: 3/10 Gore: 0/10 Dialog: 9/10 Music: 9/10 (The Rat Pack's tunes, mostly) Direction: 9/10
Cheesiness: 1/10 Crappiness: 0/10
Overall: 8/10
Overall, this is a pretty solid film, but not without it's missteps. It has a pretty wide-ranging story set in the late 50's and 1960 mostly. A decent drama for the rest of us, helped along by its factual history, and a piece any Sinatra fan will likely love to have. Recommended.
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