Maddyclassicfilms The Ratpack is directed by Rob Cohen and stars Ray Liotta, Joe Mantegna, Angus McFadyen, Don Cheadle and William Peterson.The film focuses on Frank Sinatra and his gang of showbiz friends nicknamed The Ratpack. The film focuses on them during the time leading up to President Kennedy's election when they were all at the height of their fame from 1959 through to the early 1960's.The Ratpack stars Ray Liotta as Frank Sinatra,Joe Mantegna as Dean Martin, Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis Jr and Angus McFadyen as Peter Lawford.It mainly looks at the relationship between the group and their involvement in the presidential campaign of Senator John F.Kennedy(William Peterson).Mantegna, Cheadle and McFadyen give the best performances as Dean, Sammy and Peter they captures their personality perfectly and all bear quite a strong resemblance to the men they are playing .William and Ray are sadly miscast although you believe Ray as Frank more than William as Kennedy. It's a shame that more time wasn't devoted to the groups friendship and the films they made together.What's here though is an entertaining and well made film that is not quite as perfect as it could have been. Well worth a watch though for fans of Sinatra, Martin, Davis Jr and Lawford.

John Wayne Peel 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.

gunsonfrench 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.

unfound "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.