Some familiar faces in this play turned film, by David Mamet. a student on a summer job makes friends with various workers on a freighter ship. Charles Durning, Peter Falk, Denis Leary, Andy Garcia, George Wendt (NORM!). they had all been around for Years. SOOOO much talking. much of it is just dull chatter. goes on and on. and one of the actors is just annoying. Mamet needed to jazz up the script with jokes, or ... something. probably the best part of this was seeing the locks the ship went through. interesting stuff. certainly more interesting than the chatter on board. kind of an updated version of Two Years before the Mast, novel from 1840. it's a family affair.. David Mamet managed to get Tony Mamet and Bob Mamet on the payroll as well! one of the three projects directed by Joe Mantegna. this is his ONE film, and two television shows. it's just okay. not a lot going on. needed spicing up.
Add a Review
-
ksf-224 December 2020
-
Figtree28 April 2004I think you probably have to be a huge David Mamet fan to really love this film. I'm not a huge fan, although I also don't hate his works. As for this film, I liked it but didn't love it. The entire film was a character study, and I thought was well done -- mostly. With this cast, I don't think it could go wrong. Robert Forster was fantastic. Some of the humor fell flat for me. Still, I thought it was worth seeing. My grandfather used to work in large ships on the Great Lakes. That's mostly why I rented this film. Although I suspect that his own experiences were not much like this film, it was interesting to me to think that some of them may have been a little bit similar.
-
pulpgnome16 November 2008How to you even rate a film like this. The actors are incredible, and I love Mamet (as a general rule), but this film is flat and lifeless. One scene toward the end with Robert Forster confessing to a suicidal moment earlier in his life is the only (and I mean only) scene with any emotional impact. The rest is like a series of Mametian scenes were picked off a cutting room floor and spliced together. Sad, sad.
Look--what am I saying. What? Bad? Is that what you think? Is that what you THINK? All right, then. Bad it is. But you said it. Don't you forget that. You're the guy.
Watch Spartan instead. Much better. -
TheHelmsman31 July 2006This is a movie that should be mandatory viewing at all nautical colleges and academies. It's a (mostly) accurate look into the lives of the men who drive ships for a living. Most people who have ever sailed aboard a ship will probably find this movie hilarious. Such people, however, constitute a small percentage of the general population. This movie is probably hit-or-miss for everybody else, in terms of whether or not they 'get it' and appreciate it for what it is. Lakeboat doesn't easily fit into any particular genre, seeing as there is hardly any plot. The movie instead focuses on characterization, and is aided to this by some relatively unknown but nonetheless well-cast actors. Some of the technical details are wrong, as mentioned in a few of the other comments, but when has any movie ever gotten all the technicalities right? Lakeboat is not an action film; It cruises along at the same slow, uneventful pace as the ship and crew it portrays. If you want a gunfight or an explosion every five minutes, don't even bother. If, however, you like a movie that is insightful, give this one a try. If you've ever been part of a ship's crew, you'll probably laugh to no end; this movie is funny because it's honest. Everybody else, be ready to have your romantic (or literary, according to the summary on this site) visions of the Sailor's life swept away like those of the movie's young protagonist. The stereotypes in the form of the foul-mouthed sailors are exaggerated, but in general the movie his film reflects a truism we jokingly use in this industry: the difference between a fairy tale and a sea story is that a fairy tale begins with "once upon a time," and a sea story begins with "this ain't no (insert four-letter 's' word here)." Lakeboat (generally) tells it like it is.
-
ktjacobson7 March 2004I found the movie "Lakeboat" to be a wonderful character driven film! The actors are superb, especially Robert Forster as the world-weary Joe Pitko! An Oscar performance if there ever was one. Some might find the language a bit "salty", but It wasn't gratuitous. Rather it reflects the way regular blue collar guys sometimes relate to each other, guys among guys. Having grown up and spent most of my life in the great-lakes area, I found that it rung true, and I thought it was explained very well to "the new guy" by his cabin mate before the voyage. If you don't mind thinking a bit, and you don't need an explosion every few minutes or huge special effects to keep your attention, I think you'll enjoy this film. It's a nice change of pace from the rat race.
-
Okay. Up front I dislike David Mamet's work. It is pretentious, unrealistic, inane and larded with too much profanity. It's always easier to use the "F word" than be creative or clever. A creative crutch? I watched this movie because I have lived most of my life on the Great Lakes and love the lore of the lakers. But what is the point of this movie? Even the dullest, dumbest, densest seafarers must have far better conversations than these. And thats all the movie is, a series of unlikely, unrealistic, uninspiring conversations. (Oh, what's that? It was supposed to be a comedy, you say? Thanks. I never would have known if you hadn't told me. Well, the hooker actually was pretty funny but I thought that was just lousy casting.) Great Lakes Shipping could be a very rich source of drama or even comedy. There are some great stories out there. This is not one of them.
-
meganchoritz12 May 2007I came upon this movie while channel surfing. I missed the opening but I was drawn in immediately. I loved the dialogue. A scene happens, there is no "action" but the characters are changed by each other. And the characters are so strange and hectic. But you fall into them and their foibles. I also loved the 'jewishness' of Dale. Mamet's dialogue is my best. I always have a sense that he is writing and then I have to come and check. It's heightened dialogue. Almost super-real. Peter Faulk and Denis Leary are also an absolute treat in this movie. I knew that Joe Mantegna was a favorite actor of Mamet's but I didn't know that he directed as well. Very well I thought. I don't remember ever hearing about this movie before so I'm glad I caught it.
-
dgordon-112 September 2002I have been exposed to a wide variety of movie genres, from drive-in 'B' movie fare on up to the mainstream, big studio blockbusters. In the middle of all of this is the independent, art-house movies which can be entertaining and refreshingly different. This is where "Lakeboat" fits in, and unfortunately it was neither entertaining nor different. It is about a grad student that takes a summer job on a freightliner, and all of the co-workers he works with on board. This movie has a flimsy plot at best, and the dialogue is really something to be desired. Excessive swearing for the sake of swearing does not make great comedy or enrich the dialogue. The characters seemed to be variations of one main character, and this just made me not really care about what each character had to say. The interaction between the actors/characters came across more like a stand-up comedy at the Improv than realistic labourers working on a boat. It's the type of movie that kept me watching just because I hoped it would get better. Instead, at the end of the 1hr&45minutes, I was left feeling ripped off in a way; that I wasted my time even giving this movie a chance! On the positive side, this movie boasts an all-star cast-too bad there talent is wasted on this celluloid disaster. If you value your time, don't even waste it on this excuse of a movie.
-
Roundthirteen19 September 2004Several things about this movie turned me off. I am Great Lakes Merchant Marine and was excited to hear a movie about a Great Lakes crew was being produced. They picked a Great Vessel (the Canadian flagged Seaway Queen). But although you can't blame the actors (they were working with poor material) Lakeboat gives an unrealistic stereotypical view of merchant seaman. Not only that but there are several inaccuracies in the props. For example one character makes a ship to shore call on the inter ship phone system. While the ship was being unloaded they show crew members using hand trucks to unload boxed cargo, the majority of the ships on the lakes carry bulk cargo. This ignorance to realistic detail bothered me but so did the fact that they painted every sailor as foul mouthed know nothings. I honestly have heard worse language from Jr. High School students then my shipmates. It is just so painfully inaccurate.
-
Lakeboat doesn't have a plot, so I guess it's more of a character sketch. Like a series of disconnected skits, various characters walk in, fire off some non-sequiturs, and leave. Unfortunately, it's not funny -- at all -- and the pace is slow and boring. Frankly, I couldn't get through it. The lines are somewhat funny but the pacing and the portrayal and the music is all serious.
Speaking of music, it's awful -- I assume it's more nepotism by writer David Mamet since the composer is "Bob Mamet". The film isn't awful, it's more of a "bad"... the only reason I'm upset is that I expect so much more from David Mamet. Maybe I should stop that.
Who should see this film:
-- Nobody, even if you think you might want to. See Bottle Rocket instead, or better yet, The Royal Tenenbaums.
I'll give Lakeboat a disappointing 4 out of 10. -
Bronco4626 January 2003This film is definitely not for everyone. If you want special effects, violence, or sexual content. You will not like this film. But, if your willing to give a film a chance for the first 20 min. or so, you'll be rewarded with several rich characters. I get the feeling this story cam from Mamet's past, from men he ran into while growing up. There is a recurring story about a member of the crew who missed
the boat. But the real story revolves around the men who work on this machine (the boat) that pretty much sails itself, and leaves these guys not much to do but talk to each other, and reflect on their own lives. Another great film for my Mamet collection!!!!! -
TonyMan3 June 2001I was mesmerized by the portrayal of the crew of the boat. I live in the Chicago area and the use of so many actors from the area gave true realism to the characters. I know people who have worked the boats on Lake Michigan and this movie reminded me of the experiences they have recounted. Once again, Mamet has told a story in a clean neat fashion.
-
rgaebler3 April 2008Haven't seen the movie, but saw the play at the Goodman in Chicago years ago. Mamet was uncannily on target; I felt he knew my old crew mates inside and out. Other comments seem to evaluate the movie as entertainment or what they expect of Mamet, or some other side issue. How about evaluating it as TRUTH?! The lakeboats are all gone now. The Mesabi iron ore range in Minnesota is played out and South American steel has virtually killed the US steel industry. The ore boats no longer ply the lakes, and the last one, the Mather, is now a floating museum docked at Cleveland.
So the play catches a piece of American history recorded nowhere else. All that foul language; yep, it's right on! Don't like it? Then you don't like telling it like it is! (Pardon -- like it WAS!). Perhaps the movie has it's faults; I hear they forgot the delay between an engine room signal and the reply/confirmation. But reviewers who focus on the entertainment quality of the movie miss the point: it should be viewed as LIVING HISTORY!! (Alas, of an era now totally dead and gone).
In the Summer of 1950, fresh out of high school, I shipped out as a deckhand on the Samuel F. B. Morse one of the last wooden hatch boats, but got fired the next week because I was to weak to handle the huge wooden hatches. Later I shipped out September 6, 1950, on the Presque Isle, on a run from Cleveland to Escanaba, and stayed for the Fall months. The next Summer is was deckwatch on the James A Farrell.
It's all gone now, and David Mamet's play is the only record I've ever seen of what crew life was really like. Found the movie/play boring? crude? tedious? Right; now you know what life on the lakeboats was really like!!! -
penn6500015 April 2001This film was brimming with brisk, witty dialogue, and nuanced performances. Robert Forster and Charles Durning, in particular, stood out. Forster has an incredible humanity about him. What is so appealing about Mamet's films and plays is that the dialogue is so rapidfire, the actors don't have time to well, um, act. As a result (and, most likely, also due to masterful direction) they live in the moment. It is ironic that the result of such a word-intensive piece is profound simplicity.
Don't understand why this isn't getting wider distribution. -
bjsteve16 July 2001Reminded me a lot of another Mamet play adaption to a non-Mamet directed film -- Glengary Glen Ross. Completely dialog driven, extremely funny in a non-punchline kind of way, very subtle. But much lighter theme.
I thought Tony Mamet wasn't completely up to the par of the other actors which held things back but still a great film. -
gaffertape200215 February 2004One would think that having worked with David Mamet for so many years, Joe Mantegna would have a superb understanding of Mamet-speak. Mamet's dialog requires a certain rhythm, or cadence to make it work, and despite the high caliber actors involved in this project, I didn't feel that many of them pulled it off very well. Denis Leary and Robert Forster seemed to get it, but everyone else around them seemed very stilted, and the dialog seemed truly forced. Mamet is fascinated by the dance of dialog, and if the cast won't dance, it doesn't work.
-
donlee-0402129 August 2018A story about men with a job to do in an isolated world that moves along its track outside the ken of most of the world it serves. I'm friends with, or acquainted with, a handful of Great Lakes freighter crewpeople and, no, in the modern day they don't f-bomb nearly as much as Stan and Fred do while avoiding whatever the hell their jobs are on the boat. But we all know a Stan and a Fred, puffing out their chests, blowing their hot air and stirring up whatever they can. We all know a Joe Litko, who abandoned his dream to the needs of making a living before he even fully understood what it was. We all know the Fireman, insanely devoted to the one minute detail of his job even if he doesn't fully understand the why of it. We all know Third Mate Collins, with bluff and bluster pretending to an authority he doesn't quite have. We all know Skippy, slowly and painfully coming to grips with the realization the world no longer values his hard-won knowledge and skill. The conversation between Collins and Skippy in the freighter's wheelhouse -- in which Collins cannot understand why anyone would find his world interesting, but dismisses Skippy's half-unwitting realization (the wake diverges but appears to converge, and so it appears to parallel ...) that they, the men of the Seaway Queen, are all stuck in a tiny, mobile world that slouches ever on, unchanging and eternal -- is one of my favorite moments of the film. And we've all been Dale, looking on and gradually gaining respect for a world that is strange to us. No, there's little in the way of plot in this look at a laker's everyday life, and there's no need. It's one character sketch after another, with Dale gradually maturing, just a little, appreciating what his shipmates have to offer, whether it's a little or a lot. The Rashomon-like stories of what happened to Gugliani the Night Man -- growing ever more fanciful as each lakeboatman tells it -- combined with the reality of what did happen serve as a lampshade to hang on the movie as a whole, a look into a world that is perhaps not what we romanticize it to be, but interesting nonetheless. I admit I bought my DVD of this movie because the movie version is set aboard Seaway Queen, once the pride of the Canadian fleet before she was scrapped and the fleet to which it belonged was absorbed into another. I spent a fascinating afternoon aboard the Queen when she was wintering over in Huron, Ohio, in January of 1991, and shot the bull with the shipkeeper in the very galley depicted in the film. I like this movie better than a lot of my freighter friends do, and I get that a lot of people are put off by the cussin'. But a look beyond the f-bombing will be rewarding.
-
Ethan-2415 April 2001"Lakeboat" is not necessarily a cinematic tour-de-force, but that doesn't prevent it from being a terrific movie in it's own right. As a showcase for David Mamet's particular knack for rough-hewn, tartly staccato dialogue the film succeeds admirably. If you're a fan of Mamet's trademark writing style, you'll be happy to see him get back to the blue-collar Chicago roots of his characters. Though he's transplanted them to various settings, including the wilderness ( the underrated "The Edge") and Victorian England (by way of Terence Rattigan in "The Winslow Boy"), the people inhabiting "Lakeboat" just seem more at home with Mamet's words than the characters in some of his other works.
Though devoid of any real narrative drive, the film nonetheless shines, brought to life by a fine collection of character actors. Robert Forster is especially good, affecting a subtle sadness that by the end proves to be quite moving.
Incredibly funny and profane as all of Mamet's best works have been, "Lakeboat" is vastly enjoyable and at times very touching. Director Joe Mantegna easily navigates through Mamet's tricky verbiage and expands upon the play in what feels like a completely natural growth.
"Lakeboat" is by far one of the best films of this year. -
mcnulty4 January 2002LAKEBOAT for some will move as slowly as one of those ore-carrying vessels you see on the horizon from the shores of the Great Lakes. But for those wanting a relief from the frenzy of the many mindless action movies clogging our cineplexes, this Joe Montegna-directed adaptation 0of a 30-year old David Mamet play offers plenty of rewards. Rather than a coming of age film, as I've seen it described, it's really a tale in which a young grad student named Dale (played by David Mamet's brother), working on an ore boat for the summer, serves as a witness to a number of middle-aged and older crew members intent on educating their young companion. Much of their advice about handling women and sex is pretty awful, but amusing in the cocksure way in which it is dispensed to Dale--and to their good intentions in "helping" the naive boy. Most poignant of the crew is the book-reading Joe, who reveals to Dale a fact about his early life that he's told no one else--that as a boy he had dreamt of being a ballet dancer. Thinking about the direction which he chose for his own life, he tells Dale not only that he has his whole life ahead of him, but, a wonderful comment coming from a rough-hewn crew member, that he is a good man and a hard worker. Charles Durning and George Wendt are delightful as the ponderous First Mate (Captain) and second in command, as is Peter Falk as a pier worker.It seems such a crime that this film came to the Cincinnati area for just a week with no fanfare and left as quietly as it came. It desrves to find an audience, so I hope it soon will be released as an affordable video.
-
acalyako25 June 2003"Lakeboat" is one of the nicest movie that i have ever seen, i laughed and thought at the same time, after the movie ended i just felt that our life is going on not only in an isolated or small world but also full of variety in all terms.