Don King - Una storia tutta americana

Ving Rhames, a largely unknown actor, whom most would remember from Pulp Fiction, gives his role of Don King all he's got, and it really does pay off. It results in one of the decade's best telemovies, leaving the viewer hating yet strangely drawn toward the eccentric King.

It revolves around King's rise to stardom through strongarm tactics. His violent itchy trigger finger deals it's wrath to anyone who gets in the way, and it's his no nonsense approach to boxing which gets him where he is.

The story is revealed through flashbacks, being narrated by an older King. Those are the film's funniest moments. Watching Rhames strut around the ring, whilst smoking a huge cigar and speaking in a near-scream make for extremely humourous moments. Rhames' conviction to the part makes King a character that's both funny and threatening at the same time. He relishes in hyperbole, taking the good with the bad and seeing what you get.

The idiosyncrasies and mannerisms of King are all portrayed masterfully, right down to the wavy Kramer hairstyle. Each of the supporting characters are great, but, watching Jaleel White (that guy from 'Family Matters') play Muhammed Ali just reminds you too much of his sitcom character.

It's a highly satisfying, yet powerful movie. One of the telemovies which can be recommended, which is a rare occasion. This would be a wise choice if Saturday night's viewing is not up to standard.

Nine out of ten.

While there are a number of good points about the film "Don King: Only in America"--the script, the direction, the supporting cast--by far the best reason to watch it is Ving Rhames' stunning performance as Don King. Ironically, although King is an extremely gregarious personality, Rhames' performance wins through its subtlety. Through the slightest gestures and facial expressions, Rhames paints a portrait of a man who is both repellent and compelling. The best touch of genius in the script comes in the scenes when Rhames as King comments upon the actions and events depicted in the regular film, actually "talking back" to the camera, filmmakers and audience. (At one point, he even calls HBO hypocrites.) I have never cared much for boxing, but there is no denying Don King is one of the most influential and colorful personalities of our century, and this film gives us an insight into his life we would did not have previously.

Kudos to Ving Rhames for a job well done as the flamboyant boxing promoter Don King, who is still with us in the boxing game, although he's toned down quite a bit. I'll bet Rhames had a lot of fun playing this role. King, meanwhile, will always be King, and you ring fans know what I mean by that. Still, I wonder if he doesn't cringe watching this biography of him.

As interesting a career as Mr. King has, that doesn't mean I enjoyed watching this movie. It's extremely racist, at least in the first half which turned me off so much I don't recall if even finished the film. All white people were portrayed as bad people. How is that permitted, when the opposite is not. Just the typical double standard employed by most filmmakers.

However, to be fair, King was a bad, bad dude in his early days and the film is portraying that. He's a much different person today. It's just that it's not fun to watch, nor is the profanity in here fun to hear. I don't mind "language" since I'm no choir boy, but this is ridiculous in here. Don't let the "made-for-TV" label fool you. It was made for HBO, and anything goes on that network.

the quality of this movie surprised me. The editing, dialogues, and screenplay flow is superb. Tough for an actor to act to be Don King, an actor himself. Learned new english words too: "tried to DISMERCIFY me". I would reccomend that the viewer see first "When We Where Kings", the documentary of the Ali-Foreman fight in Zaire, because a good 20 minutes of this movie re-enacts many scenes straight from the documentary. There are imaginative scenes and dialogues: how the character impersonating Don King talks to the camera [audience] saying how HBO is making a movie on him; stunning beginning in which a scene from the past is bridged to the present zooming in on the footsteps on a stairway, then zooming out to see the entire figure walking of a much older person.

Don King is a self-promoter the likes that few have seen in our lifetime. This film takes a novel approach to telling the King story, blowing KING up into as big a buffoon as possible, and using King himself (actor Ving Rhames) in telling the tale. I give director John Herzfeld credit-it's a novel and appropriate approach to the biography of a man who truly is more caricature than real.

Rhames gives an inspired and convincing performance as King, breathing much life into a film from a book that was for all practical purposes stillborn.

Enjoy the movie for Rhames and pay little attention to the details.