Admirable film.

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

I just HAD to chime in on this movie. Besides having lived through this period of history, I read so many books and articles about the Kennedys in particular and much about film and show biz history as well as the sixties.But before I get into that, let's review the movie and its stars. Ray Liotta as Sinatra is so awful , I'm embarrassed for him, frankly. (No pun intended, but you have to admit it is a good one.) It made me wonder how this man got into the acting profession let alone this movie. He is basically, from my point of view, doing a redo of his character from "Goodfellas" and without the great direction and supporting cast of that film.Joe Mategna as Dino is very good even though he only bears a passing resemblance to Dean Martin, but captures much of his laid-back charm. I only wish he had more of the smiling Dino I saw so many hours on TV and in films. (Don't get me started on those awful Matt Helm movies. I still haven;t completely forgiven this late crooner for those.) Don Cheadle is a standout as Sammy Davis Jr. and I would wear out my typing fingers if I went on. I just could have done without that imaginary scene with the giant "N" word as he dances around the letters. Anyway, suffice it to say that Cheadle earned the award and accolades.Also amazing was the actor Angus Macfadyen as Peter Lawford who also did a great job in yet another biopic about Richard Burton and Liz Taylor. He is dead-on right here. Although I am not so sure that Lawford ws such a loser.As for William Petersen as JFK, here's where I have more than a few problems. The man CAN ACT. and he even does an OK job as our 34th President, but he follows in a succession of vague resembling actors with varying degrees of charisma and acting talent. Here is where the facts get in the way. Instead of going for the truth, the writer and filmmaker rely solely, it seems, on tabloid gossip and negative and unsubstantiated accounts in some revisionist books on the subject of his life. Kennedy had a very bad back from his early football days at Harvard and further aggravated by his part in the whole PT-109 adventure. The man wore a corset for it and also used the famed rocking chair in the White House so it is entirely unlikely at this point in his life that he had a lot of sexual conquests. But people want to believe the scurrilous fabrications that persist in film and literature.Getting back to the movie, the singing of the songs by people who should have let the original recordings stand on their own. They are (and I'm being polite here) damned awful. Nuff said there.So folks, do your homework and read as much as you can about the whole period. Just don't relegate it solely to the revisionist junk that's out there. You will thank me later.All in all, this film is slightly entertaining but an insult to all that were the actual participants in this story.I give it a generous 4 out of 10.

The fascinating thing aboutThe Rat Pack film is that director Rob Cohen treats it almost like a Greek tragedy, with an impressive rise and a truly mournful downfall. That these characters are real people and larger-than-life in their swagger and impact on a nation only adds to this movie's effect. The casting is awe-inspiring, with Cheadle, Liotta, and Mantegna really becoming their parts, not just aping mannerisms and voices of the real people but catching the effect of their styles and personalities. Liotta's is a very difficult part, for the real Sinatra was a turbulent, conflicted man, capable of rage and powerful anger and yet love, loneliness and tenderness, and it's great compliment to Liotta to say that he nailed the part. However,the film is most effective in showing the tragedy and lost hope of the Kennedy Years, the flawed but beautiful "Camelot" myth. William Peterson is great as Jack, coming across as a devilish, womanizing politician who wants to conduct himelf as a Rat Packer yet finds himself constrained by his Presidency, which ultimately hurts Sinatra, in scenes so emotional that the viewer feels very sorry for the wounded crooner, wanting love and respect from his poweful friend and yet getting rejected for the way he (and Jack Kennedy)has lived his life. The final scene, set to the tune of "One for My Baby" is haunting both in its revelations, its sad reflection on its characters, and the horror in what it leaves unsaid. A lesser film would've shown the Rat Pack's reaction to the Kennedy assassination and ended there, but instead Cohen ends with a shot of Peter Lawford standing solemnly outside the Kennedy Family Home in Hyanis Port, looking out to the sea, as if waiting for something. Then comes the end of the song,and there is a brilliant shot of the needle coming off the record and the familiar dull thud, then silence. A perfect metaphor for November 22, 1963, and the true end of the Rat Pack.

I was skeptical about this film as I am about most movies having to do with the life and times of entertainment stars. This however isn't all that bad for a two hour film. Several inaccuracies are included that the makers must have known were not true and there is way too much focus on Sinatra. If you want the real tale of the Pack check out the four part biography A&E put out.

This is a good movie. I was really impressed by Joe Mantegna and Don Cheadle. They played Martin and Davis to perfection. I also like MacFadyen as Lawford. I really wasnt impressed with Ray Liotta as Sinatra. He was ok but could have been better. Overall it's a pretty enjoyable film.