The Rat Pack

August. 22,1998      R
Rating:
6.6
Trailer Synopsis Cast

After a brief flash-forward to Frank Sinatra as an old man, saying "I miss my guys," the movie's main narrative begins during high points in the solo careers of the Rat Pack: Dean Martin has become a big success despite the breakup of his partnership with Jerry Lewis; Sinatra's career is at its peak; Sammy Davis, Jr., is making a comeback after a near fatal car crash, and standup comic Joey Bishop is gaining exposure as an opening act for the other three. The Pack becomes complete when Sinatra reconciles with actor Peter Lawford, who has been ostracized since being seen out publicly with Sinatra's ex-wife, Ava Gardner.

Ray Liotta as  Frank Sinatra
Joe Mantegna as  Dean Martin
Don Cheadle as  Sammy Davis Jr.
Angus Macfadyen as  Peter Lawford
William Petersen as  John F. Kennedy
Zeljko Ivanek as  Bobby Kennedy
Bobby Slayton as  Joey Bishop
Megan Dodds as  May Britt
Deborah Kara Unger as  Ava Gardner
Veronica Cartwright as  Rocky Cooper

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Reviews

Chirphymium
1998/08/22

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

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Twilightfa
1998/08/23

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

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Neive Bellamy
1998/08/24

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

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Loui Blair
1998/08/25

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

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gazzo-2
1998/08/26

I enjoyed watching it quite a bit. Best actor there-Don Cheadle, was prob the most miscast though it was fun to watch him play Sammy. Deano was done alright by Montengna, while Lawford was shown to be a real wuss. Joey Bishop well he was just a cameo so who can say? Now Sinatra-Liotta has the attitude and manner down, but sure doesn't look like him. He's also over 6 foot while Ol' Blue Eyes was 5-9 maybe and skinny. But as Sinatra, Liotta wasn't a bad choice.You get a crash course in familiar faces/big names here: Sam Giancana, JFK, Joseph Kennedy, RFK, Marilyn, Joltin Joe, Johnny Rosselli, Ava Gardner, hmmmmm I am sure I'm leaving someone out but you get the idea. All this and some Hoover eavesdropping too! You even have allusions to J. Edgar and that infamous blackmail pic of him and Clyde Tolson, Mickey Cohen, a ludicrous scene of Sinatra trying to phone Nixon to concede the election(!) and of course, Dan O'Herlihy(from Robocop etc etc) running everything too. And yes the Klan shows. O and don't forget May Britt...Oh the buying of West Virgina primary votes and the Chicago votes by the mob too. That we all heard of as well.So was this any good?! Sure. Did I buy into it? Well...mostly. I got a kick outta Sinatra's tantrum when he found out that BING of all people was getting to host JFK instead of himself in California, and he starts to bash apart the half-finished additions to his Palm Springs mansion. Quite funny.The woman playing Ava was beautiful though Marilyn wasn't so convincing. Judith Campbell/Exner well that came off okay. Momo was shown w/ Rosselli tossing around the idea of 'whacking Frank', which hadda be a twist on things if ever there was one. This I did actually buy.Overall you will enjoy it though it did need some more of JFK's time in office, the CSI guy as JFK was a hoot. I liked their sailing scene together him and Sinatra.You won't go wrong with this if you just sit back and take it with a grain of salt.*** outta ****

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caspian1978
1998/08/27

First of all, this is a great movie. HBO has done it again by producing another interesting and thought provoking original movie. But, I have one complaint about the film. I am a New Englander such as our former President Kennedy was. He was born in Brookline and grew up in south eastern Massachusetts and he summered often in and around Cape Cod. When it comes to ice cream toppings, we here in New England don't have chocolate sprinkles....we have what we call "Jimmy's." You see, rainbow colored sprinkles are just that...sprinkles but chocolate sprinkles are known as "Jimmys." When Jack and Bobby decide to have some late night ice cream, Jack asks Bobby to get the sprinkles. Bobby hands him a jar of chocolate "Jimmys," not sprinkles. A boy from New England should know better, but the Hollywood based production would have no clue about the difference between chocolate and rainbow colored sprinkles / "Jimmys". Otherwise, the movie was good.

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Ryan J. Gilmer
1998/08/28

The movie "The Rat Pack" is definitely unexpected and that is not necessarilly a good thing.I saw the movie soon after hearing that the surviving rat pack members did not want any part of cameo appearences in the Ocean's Eleven remake because "their Rat Pack was able having fun (and making movies in the process and that the "new" Rat Pack for the movie is just a bunch of "non-friend guys" to make a buck)". Maybe this was just rumor and I'm sure the quote is a bit off, but still THEY WERE ABOUT FUN.Therefore, I was really surprised to see a movie that was anything but fun. If anything this is a political biopic. It focuses on an older/aging Sinatra and how he loses his friends my not playing with the rules. This is an interesting twist and I could see it being interesting if you are looking for it.In all I guess the movie shows that (and how) it could be said that Sinatra played big and won big (in Casino logic), but he kept playing big and eventually the house took him.Aside from being a "non-fun" movie (I mean I can deal with educational or mind-provoking, but) the actors or at least the make-up is just off. Half of the rat pack does not appear to look like the Rat Pack. I just cannot buy that Dean Martin is in the movie and Frank Sinatra is even a Stretch. Don Cheadle on the other hand does a great Sammy Davis Jr. and the true bits about his life are at least interesting.I must have missed something at the beginning of the film though as I could not tell if the movie was a flashback or just during the turbulent period of the Rat Pack's life.I guess I'd recommend the parts of this movie that deal with the fun aspects of the Pack (the movies and the singing). The "Ocean's 11 (1960)" snipits are great, but I would not take a gamble on the rest.Rating: 5

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delallo
1998/08/29

I enjoyed "The Rat Pack" and especially liked the portrayals of Sinatra and Davis by Ray Liotta and Don Cheadle. Although this is an HBO movie, it is entertaining and not predictable as expected. Being a fan of the genre may help to enjoy this film, but it isn't required.

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