The public and private lives of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford.
Director: Rob Cohen
Stars: Ray Liotta, Joe Mantegna, Don Cheadle, Angus Macfadyen.
Watched online, horrible print: fuzzy, audio out of sync.
15 songs in the Soundtracks. Only a couple of songs have RL & DC performed, and those are together, one with additional cast. Otherwise, it appears that they have song doubles.
This should not be tagged Musical; it's Music at best. No one sings about the story or their feelings. Then again, if I accept Alice Faye singing in a radio studio as a Musical, so should this be. Except I'd bet she did full songs more often. I think we only get 1 full song here.
The film covers 1960-62, although we see some flashbacks to earlier times. Major world events are covered in headlines floating across the screen, as are some press coverage of the Rat Pack's lives. But the big bookends are Kennedy's campaign for President and Kennedy declining to stay in Sinatra's Palm Springs home after Frank has built onto it just for him. Bobby nixed it based on the Giancana connection with Judy Campbell. (Yes, this is deep enough into '62 that MM has died.)
RL's laugh is so distinctive, not like FS's voice at all. But we can't expect a copy.
This portrays the FS/PL relationship as horribly volatile; they parted at least once before the film begins, apparently because PL escorted Ava Gardner somewhere. The second time, ending the film, is when JFK will be staying at Bing Crosby's PS home instead of Frank's. (PL is brother-in-law to JFK, and has been roped into being messenger, expected to be effective persuader.)
The film does nothing to improve my impression of FS after reading a biography that ended with his winning the Oscar for From Here To Eternity ('53) and his marriage with Ava crumbling or over. During this film he's shown in bed with her again, but not for long. She leaves abruptly when he won't hang up during a call from a mobster.
Rated 6.7 (2,700)
HBO & more, dir. Cohen; 6
