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Don King: Only in America

  • TV Movie
  • 1997
  • R
  • 2h 1m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
Ving Rhames in Don King: Only in America (1997)
Home Video Trailer from HBO Home Video
Play trailer0:32
1 Video
53 Photos
BiographyDramaSport

A cinematic portrait of the famous fight promoter and boxing manager.A cinematic portrait of the famous fight promoter and boxing manager.A cinematic portrait of the famous fight promoter and boxing manager.

  • Director
    • John Herzfeld
  • Writers
    • Jack Newfield
    • Kario Salem
  • Stars
    • Ving Rhames
    • Vondie Curtis-Hall
    • Jeremy Piven
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    1.4K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Herzfeld
    • Writers
      • Jack Newfield
      • Kario Salem
    • Stars
      • Ving Rhames
      • Vondie Curtis-Hall
      • Jeremy Piven
    • 22User reviews
    • 10Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Primetime Emmys
      • 11 wins & 22 nominations total

    Videos1

    Don King: Only In America
    Trailer 0:32
    Don King: Only In America

    Photos52

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    Top cast73

    Edit
    Ving Rhames
    Ving Rhames
    • Don King
    Vondie Curtis-Hall
    Vondie Curtis-Hall
    • Lloyd Price
    Jeremy Piven
    Jeremy Piven
    • Hank Schwartz
    Darius McCrary
    Darius McCrary
    • Muhammad Ali
    Keith David
    Keith David
    • Herbert Muhammad
    Gabriel Casseus
    Gabriel Casseus
    • Jeremiah Shabazz
    Loretta Devine
    Loretta Devine
    • Connie Harper
    Brent Jennings
    Brent Jennings
    • Dick Sadler
    Lahmard J. Tate
    Lahmard J. Tate
    • Carl King
    Danny Johnson
    Danny Johnson
    • Larry Holmes
    Bernie Mac
    Bernie Mac
    • Bundini Brown
    Donzaleigh Abernathy
    Donzaleigh Abernathy
    • Henrietta King
    Lou Rawls
    Lou Rawls
    • Harold Logan
    Teddy Atlas
    • Richie Giachetti
    Jarrod Bunch
    Jarrod Bunch
    • George Foreman
    Ron Leibman
    Ron Leibman
    • Harry Shondor
    Don Elbaum
    • Self
    Sarah Scott Davis
    • Diane Holmes
    • Director
      • John Herzfeld
    • Writers
      • Jack Newfield
      • Kario Salem
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews22

    7.01.4K
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    Featured reviews

    Doctor_Bombay

    Ving Rhames is the champ, Don King nothing but chump.

    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.
    dtucker86

    Don King is a monster

    Ving Rhames is a truly amazing actor and always gives a wonderful performance. I always think of him as electronic expert Luther Stickell in the Mission Impossible movie series with Tom Cruise. In this film, he tackles a very challenging role and pulls it off magnificently! He should have gotten an Emmy for his outstanding work as a true American monster Don King. Don King was inducted into the boxing hall of fame recently, can you believe that? Someone said that is like burying Benedict Arnold in Arlington Cemetary. Don King did not hold anything remotely resembling an honest job until he was 40 years old and went into boxing promoting. He was nothing but a common criminal. He was a numbers runner for the Clevland syndicate and killed two men. In the first case, it was ruled justifiable homicide, in the second case it was more despicable. This man beat another man to death on a public street in front of many eyewitnesses. He literally kicked him to death until his brain ruptured. For this crime he only served a few years in prison. Rhames made me laugh in this film with his amusing portrayal of King's flamboyance and colorful use of words, but there is nothing funny about this man and the damage that he did to boxing. The most horrible thing that he did, and I WANT EVERYONE READING THIS ON IMDB TO HEAR THIS!!!LISTEN TO WHAT I AM SAYING. In 1980, Muhammad Ali came out of retirement to fight Larry Holmes in an effort to become the only man to ever regain the title three times. Before this fight, Ali had to have a physical at the Mayo clinic which is one of the finest clinics in the US. They sent a report of their findings to Don King and he supressed this report and let the fight go on. They found out that Ali literally had a hole in the membranes surrounding his brain. He admitted that he had tingling in his hands and slurring of his speech. All they would have to do is listen to tapes of him from ten years before to hear how his voice had changed. He couldn't do simple things like hopping or touching his nose with his finger (the things police have people do to take a DUI test). Don King talked of how much he "loved" Ali. IF HE LOVED HIM SO DAMN MUCH WHY OH WHY DIDN"T HE CANCEL THE FIGHT. King was so powerful do you think that he couldn't have done it. Eddie Futch was one of the legendary trainers in boxing. He trained Joe Frazier and said he loved him like a son. In the third fight he had with Ali in Manilla, Eddie stopped the fight because he knew Frazier was blind and couldn't defend himself. Keep in mind, he thought Frazier was ahead on points and it was the last round. That is a true gentleman and that is what Don King should have done with the Ali Holmes fight. Ali suffered a horrible beating that was unbearable to watch. Sylvester Stallone said it was like watching an autopsy on a living person. Ali was damaged even more by this fight and it was all because of a scumbag named Don King. Don King is a monster and he is like a Frankenstein monster because we made him and we let him get away with it. Joe Louis must be turning in his grave!!!!!
    6Tony-Kiss-Castillo

    PRESENTS AN EXTREMELY UNFLATTERING PORTRAIT OF Mr. KING!

    BEFORE DIVING INTO THIS BIOPIC...... ..... FIRST...Let us FOCUS on the Title's Content and Context:

    "Now if you all didn't have Don King...You'd have to invent him!", proclaims a larger-than-life Don King at the end of this Biopic. Moments later we see the standard, "Some scenes or events have been changed or altered for dramatic effect" biopic disclaimer clause. Makes you wonder just how much is really 'TRUE' and how much is Production invention! (Possible HBO payback for Pay-per-View deals that haven't gone so well?) Do the words "Conflict of Interest" mean anything to anybody?

    HBO movies are invariably a 7* to 10* experience for me...Especially biotics.(OOPS! Decided to let this typo stand...Has a rather ironic/sardonic ring to it, wouldn't you say?) ONLY IN AMERICA was not up to HBO's usual standard of excellence. Since 5.5* is not an option, 6* is what you see above. What kept America somewhere in the barely OK zone, as opposed to not at all, were the numerable pop-cultural nostalgic moments, events and personalities, in addition to the behind-the-scenes story itself.

    For AMERICA to have really soared, it required a top-notch performance from Ving Rhames. Although there were some scenes where he does really shine, unfortunately, a lot of his acting seems more like something of a caricature, a crude parody of the real thing! That Rhames won a Golden-Globe for his portrayal of King simply baffles me! Sorry, his performance just doesn't seem that great to me! Putting it mildly, HBO presents an extremely unflattering portrait of Mr. King: A back-stabbing, foul-mouthed, self-aggrandizing, utterly ruthless, oft-times buffoonish and chronically malapropistic speaker. (Although he did show improvement on this score as the years passed) But, pop-culturally speaking, you can't deny there's a lot going on in America! Apparently, most people seem to like this film a lot more than I did...So, try it if you will!

    ....ENJOY / DISFRUTELA!

    Any comments, questions or observations, in ENGLISH... o en ESPAÑOL, are most welcome!
    7Caroseli

    Compelling Performance by Ving Rhames

    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.
    lukas-5

    Rhames's brilliance vs. film's blandness

    The best thing to be said for this film is that Ving Rhames, usually a supporting player, gets a role he can really sink his teeth into. He alone tries to carry the film with his charismatic, vivid performance. The film itself is typical made for tv fare-conventional, fairly unimaginative cinematically, competent enough to be semi-entertaining.

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    Related interests

    Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, and Geraldine James in Gandhi (1982)
    Biography
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill in Moneyball (2011)
    Sport

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When accepting the Golden Globe for "Best Actor In A Miniseries or Made For TV Movie" a tearful Ving Rhames called fellow nominee Jack Lemmon onstage and praised him for being such an inspiration. He then shocked the audience, as well as Lemmon, by giving him the award.
    • Quotes

      [in a restroom]

      George Foreman: Aren't you gonna wash your hands?

      Don King: I wash my hands *before* I touch my dick.

    • Crazy credits
      The credits end with Don King proclaiming "It's me, baby!".
    • Connections
      Featured in The 55th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1998)
    • Soundtracks
      Stagger Lee
      Written by Harold Logan and Lloyd Price

      Performed by Vondie Curtis-Hall

      Produced by Anthony Marinelli

      Arranged by Anthony Marinelli

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 15, 1997 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Don King: Người duy nhất nước Mỹ
    • Filming locations
      • Lincoln Heights Jail - 401 N. Avenue 19, Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California, USA(When Don King walks out of Ohio State Prison)
    • Production companies
      • HBO Films
      • LaFray Inc.
      • Thomas Carter Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 1m(121 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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