Lakeboat

One 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.

I 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.

I 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.

I 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.

This 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.