Frank, Dean und Sammy tun es

Y'know, I really liked this film which recalls a year or two in the life of the Rat Pack, but I can't tell you why. I've watched the DVD four times in the last three days.

On the one hand, it is just a rehashing of some old cliches and an extended display of celebrity impersonations. (When Sinatra performs, for example, it is Ray Liotta's body and the voice of a fellow named Michael Dees)

Forget about the rest of the players ... they do OK, but this anonymous guy named Michael Dees is the real star ... a flawless recreation of Sinatra's phrasing on the Kennedy campaign song, the best-ever rendition of "One More for the Road", and more. This guy is so good it is eerie.

I guess what I liked about the movie is that it was just so much damned fun to live in those days again for a couple of hours. The movie did a decent job of showing what it was like to be hung up in the ring-a-ding, koo-koo life of the guys who had "the world on a string" for a couple of decades.

Forget the deep insights. There aren't any but, as Dino said, "you can't share your deepest feelings when you don't have any". The film did make an effort to show Sammy's inner conflict between his own sense of self-worth and the second class citizenship he was accorded by his country and even his buddies, but it was a clumsy attempt to be serious, like a drunken guy telling you how much he loves you, and frankly it provided some of the slowest moments in the movie.

But you'll marvel again at Dino's centered calm, Sammy's dazzling talent, Frank's complex and godlike power, JFK's charisma, and Frank's incomparable phrasing of a song ... even when it's actually sung by Michael Dees.

I missed this on HBO and was delighted to pick it up recently. With the possible exception of Ray Liotta, the physical casting was truly well done. Liotta plays Sinatra reminiscing towards the end of his life about his golden years, his old friends in the 'Rat Pack' and his aspirations to be loved universally by helping John F Kennedy into power.

What made this stand out for me is not only the wonderful recreations of the legendary on stage horseplay the Rat Pack indulged in, but also some of the private agonies, particularly those of Sammy Davies Junior, in another superb performance by Don Cheadle, who is given his own solo spectacular scene in a face off against the Ku Klux Klan.

The Kennedy and Lawford association is also covered in some depth, and the Sinatra character is well rounded - we feel for him much of the time, but his personality is far from sugar coated. As a film character, he is compelling, although Ray Liotta makes little attempt to emulate Sinatra in voice or mannerisms.

Joe Mantegna IS Dean Martin physically, and this helps the authenticity of the piece, but he is sadly underwritten, Gone is the hell raiser and womaniser of legend. In his place is a laconic 'Fonz', smooth with the ladies, but sleeping alone.

William Petersen nails Kennedy in spite of physical differences, and the scenes with him and Sinatra seem consistent with their characters. Angus McFadyen plays a nervous Lawford, caught between using his Kennedy connections to become part of the Rat Pack and keeping Frank out of the White House. Ava Gardner also makes a brief appearance in the form of Debra Kara Unger. Aside from the unusual casting of it's lead (Aidan Quinn would have been a much more realistic choice), my only real gripe is how suddenly it all ends, while you wait for a proper conclusion. This is a wonderful glimpse into the intertwined lives of some of the highest profile people on the planet.

There is a lot to like about "The Rat Pack", the HBO production of Frank Sinatra and his legendary cohorts during the wildly glamorous 'Camelot' days of the Kennedy administration. They were gifted, rich, and idolized, could have anything or anyone they wanted, ruled Las Vegas as demigods, and for a brief moment in history, they shared, with John Kennedy, a pinnacle that no one, before or since, has achieved.

Each performer had a clearly defined role in the 'Pack', in 1960; Joey Bishop, 42, was the 'Jester', heralding arrivals, and content with the reflected glory of the 'Pack'; Peter Lawford, 37, was the 'Ambassador', official 'go-between' for Sinatra and the Kennedys (who would swallow his pride, and accept often being little more than a glorified 'pimp' for his more successful friends); Sammy Davis Jr., 35, was the 'Pet', tiny and extraordinarily talented as a singer and dancer, yet still treated as a 'less than equal' novelty act, even by the enlightened Sinatra; and Dean Martin, 43, was the 'Crown Prince', tall, handsome and charismatic, possessing all the qualities Sinatra lacked, and completely hiding a deep-set aloofness by a quick wit and 'way cool' persona. Sinatra, 45, was, of course, the 'King', undisputed leader of the 'Pack'. Short, skinny, and balding, the middle-class kid from Hoboken, N.J. had never truly grown up; while his voice would revolutionize the music industry and make him legendary, his personal life was a continuous elevator ride of highs and lows, with an Oscar, two broken marriages, three children, and a never-ending supply of "booze and broads" masking a child-like need to be liked and accepted.

The success of the actors in 'capturing' these legends is a mixed bag. Bobby Slayton, as Bishop, is forgettable in little more than a cameo; Angus MacFadyen's Lawford is, however, very good, capturing the spirit of a man who had 'sold his soul' to both Sinatra and the Kennedys; best of all is Don Cheadle, as Sammy Davis, acutely aware of the patronizing attitude Sinatra demonstrates towards him, but too happy having his friendship to speak up.

As for Joe Mantegna and Ray Liotta...Besides sharing wavy black hair, a Roman nose, and oval head, the short, stocky Mantegna barely resembles 'Dino', but he captures the Martin 'attitude' and double life extremely well; Liotta looks even less like Sinatra, but the blocky, very powerful GOODFELLAS star is brilliant as the mercurial star, far closer in spirit to the man than Philip Casnoff, in the family 'approved' TV-movie, "Sinatra" (1992).

With flashy supporting roles by William L. Petersen, as a shallow, whoring JFK, and Deborah Unger as earthy, alcoholic pragmatist Ava Gardner, "The Rat Pack" is a 'Who's Who' of the movers and shakers of the times, easily incorporating the Mafia, Ku Klux Klan, and Marilyn Monroe, as well as the transitional 'feel' of the era, as the stodgy conservatism of the fifties was replaced by JFK's dynamic yet ultimately superficial new optimism...until November, 1963, when 'Camelot' would collapse, replaced by a far less idealistic new order, where Sinatra's 'Rat Pack' would be a passé joke.

As Montegna's 'Dean Martin' would remark, "Enjoy the ride while it lasts, because nothing lasts forever."

"The Rat Pack" is a GREAT ride!

Most of us of a certain age will remember the events in this movie as newspaper headlines. I have no idea how much fictionalisation there is but the film does capture the mood of the time and the sleazy blend of Las Vegas show business, gangsterism and American politics. There is no attempt to get look alikes for the main roles but their personalities are suggested rather cleverly. In the smaller roles I thought Dan O'Herlihy was a standout as the evil, conniving Joe Kennedy. The musical numbers are well integrated into the plot and nicely done.

"The Rat Pack" was a fairly good film. There were some squabbles over the casting but there's only so far that you can go with a film. Ray Liotta does a fairly good portrayal of Old Blue Eyes by playing him off as a cocky, brash, fast living human being with a penchant for being connected. The always good Don Cheadle portrays Sammy Davis as a human torn apart by bigotry during those days. Angus MacFayden, despite the fact that he looks like Peter Lawford when he was a teenager, is good at playing Lawford as an adulterer and reluctant political confidant to Sinatra. Joey Bishop lookalike Bobby Slayton has all the mannerisms and the look of Bishop himself. Joe Mantegna once again delivers portraying Dino as the real confidant to Sinatra who kept the middle ground between Sinatra and everything else. The film focuses on the Rat Pack's glory days as well as it's tie to the Kennedy family. It's very good despite how short the film is. The only problem I have is that it stops abruptly and doesn't continue on about the Rat Pack, how it's days ended and what not. Other than that, The Rat Pack is a satisfying rental for any fan.