All the Way

I recently had the privilege of watching a screener of this movie which was designed to test audience reactions. Right from the start I knew I was going to enjoy it, with its subtle aussie Comedy and great cast. Without giving anything away, its the story of an aussie promoter (Edgerton) in the early 70's attempting to get Frank Sinatra (Hopper) to play a concert in Australia. Joel Edgerton, recently from "Ned Kelly" shows his brilliant acting talent and his ability to do comedy as easily as drama. Rose Byrne, Portia De Rossi and Melanie Griffith put forward strong supporting roles which help to flesh out the story, which is based on actual events. The stand out performances though, have to come from Dennis Hopper and David Fields. Hopper as usual puts his all into the role and brings it off wonderfully, playing the serious and egotistical, Frank Sinatra. Australian David Fields is cast as a Young Bob Hawke and has some of the movies funnier moments. I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars and suggest going and catching it at the cinema

i rented this movie, Did not make it to Icelandic theaters, not a great loss though this is a movie to watch at home, medium paced at first.Melanie Griffith did well here,playing a Marylin Monroe lookalike wannabe Frank Sinatra's Wife, Dennis Hooper on the other hand brings shame to Frank Sinatra's name with a dreadful performance and after seeing this one would think that Frank Sinatra was an total Bastard,egomaniac and surrounded by Members of the Italian Mafia.Joel Edgerton put's on a good show as Rod Blue easy going Aussie bloke who try's and succeeds in bringing Mr Sinatra over too sidney Australia and get's the ride of his life from this,learns some lessons on life and goes on. everything about this movie smells of Averageness,but after watching it and spendin sometime thinking about it and watching again well it's a good movie to rent if you want a feel good movie, it has Romance,comedy and a little adventure.

That song line from "all the way" is emblematic of The Night We Called It A Day, which starts out as a gritty piece of history, but ultimately becomes a testament to the joys of total romantic commitment.

For much of The Night We Called It A Day, I thought I had the movie completely pegged: Frank Sinatra, representing US Cultural Imperialism, running roughshod over the Australian locals. I'm not thin-skinned, and not uncritical of the US myself, so I thought, okay...that along with the voyeur's pleasure of seeing the crude reality of Sinatra's private life portrayed on screen is sufficient for 90 minutes entertainment.

But what starts out seeming like a poison pen letter turns out to be more of a Valentine, and the switch from one to the other makes the conclusion especially satisfying and exhilarating. The filmmakers play fast and loose with the facts toward the end, but the result is worth the artistic license.

I doubt anyone could play Sinatra and come out on top; in his own films Sinatra had a singular presence that could never be duplicated by any mere actor. Hopper isn't mimicking, however, he is acting, and he does a good job of conveying the essence of his character. I imagine the most difficult part of the role was bringing the audience along in those scenes where Sinatra, without dropping his tough guy act, reveals a tiny glimpse of the sweeter inner man. I bought it.

Maybe I was just in a receptive mood, but I immensely enjoyed it.

I managed to catch Paul Goldman's "The Night We Called It A Day" the last time it was being shown in a Toowoomba cinema. I took my sister with me. The movie was about three minutes in when I realised that it was me, my sister and a man in a Top Gun-esque fighter jacket that were going to see it for the final time on a giant screen (well, not giant really. That cinema needs to be repaired). Anyway, three people were watching this movie, and I was p***ed off that no one else bothered. That emotion was countered, I guess, when I paid attention to what was being projected onto this dilapidated screen. Superb performances by Joel Edgerton and David Field and a fine looking Frank Sinatra by the guy (and let's not forget this) who was a frighteningly aggressive rule-breaker in "Easy Rider." I don't know why this movie was bagged to the high heavens by Australian critics and audiences (or lack thereof) alike. It's a great movie and those who don't appreciate it, even marginally, oughta see it again. Go to the Toowoomba cinema to see it, okay? There's nobody around that will talk over the trailers...

Besides just the title change between the Australian release and the rest of the world, this is a film that obviously stirred up a lot of controversy and passion in Australia, given the reviews posted below. Quite understandable, given the political and social portraits it painted, very sharply and yet with great humor. (My favorite laugh: not even spoken, the newspaper headlines in the street when the "incident" becomes full-blown: "Regrets: He Has a Few" Ha!) And also that the Aussies know Bob Hawke and some of the other characters, and remember this outrageous incident well, and the rest of the world doesn't.

I found it to be a little gem of a film that I just discovered in my ongoing drive to see more Hopper films and revisit some that I hadn't seen since the '60s and '70s. And Hopper's performance as Sinatra was not the least of its charms: the romance and tribulations of the eminently likable promoter Rod Blue (who could forget that name?) and the utterly charming Audrey had that light touch of Hollywood and still the honest edge of Australian films.

Melanie Griffin is fully typecast as Barbara Marx and her complex and yet vapid relation with Sinatra is pathetic at first and gradually becomes a thing of warmth and understanding. The dramatic arc just really worked for me, although I kept thinking "How much of this really happened? They couldn't make up stuff about FRANK SINATRA, for crying out loud!"