The Rat Pack

REVIEW
An intermittently interesting docudrama about Frank, Dean, Sammy and the rest of the gang and of their relationships, careers, and political and criminal ties in the early '60s. The main focus -- and the most successful part of the film -- is the Rat Pack's influence in putting JFK into the White House, and the reputed Mob dealings, via Frank, that ensured Kennedy's electorial vote. However, there are too many subplots for the running time, and the end result is that the stories are simply glossed over. The JFK thread keeps the film somewhat cohesive, though there's little insight into the characters. While no one really looks like their real-life counterparts, the acting is uniformly good, the music's great, and the Reader's Digest/all-peaks-and-no-valleys approach to the material will probably keep most viewers involved.