What do you get when you combine three inexperienced criminals a rented house in la & the son of americas greatest legends? you get the 1963 kidnapping of frank sinatra jr. Featuring an excellent soundtrack of period m... more »usic this madcap caper is more outlandish than fiction! Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/16/2007 Starring: William H Macy Thomas Ian Nicholas Run time: 96 minutes Rating: R« less
Deborah A. from SARASOTA, FL Reviewed on 8/6/2010...
Really enjoyed this comedy of errors and idiots. William H. Macy is brilliant, as usual. Worth watching.
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Movie Reviews
Could have been much better, but it has a unique "feel"
Kristopher Haines | Portland, OR United States | 03/15/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Sometimes truth is indeed stranger than fiction, especially the epilogue. Perhaps it is because it is based on such strange facts that it resists being fictionalized. "Stealing Sinatra" registers as flat. What a waste. I think that its biggest problem is it neglects to include some of the more interesting facts of the story. Why did Barry Keenan do it? The movie shows him popping pills but it does not mention (if memory serves) that he was once a great mind and the youngest person to trade on the stock exchange. It does mention his maraculous rebound in the end, but does not mention that kidnapper and kidnapee are often forced to exchange awkward glances at ritzy parties. All and all it is an adequate film, due mostly to the way it evokes its time period, and of course the remarkable skill of William H. Macy.
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Boring as boring can be
justsomeguy | 10/11/2005
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Ugh. Don't waste your time. You may think this is a "movie", but it's just something Showtime threw together. None of the acting is very good, and it has very little, if any, redeeming qualities.
I know, I know, it has "Sinatra" in the title, how bad can it be? Well, it's bad, trust me.
The only thing I liked about it, assuming they stuck to facts, is that you learn what happened to Frank Jr's captors."
Unwatchable
John Dryden | 05/16/2009
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Stealing Sinatra is based on a true story. I heard about it on the Chicago based This American Life. Fascinating!
Ira Glass said that Showtime had gotten the rights to the story and made it into a film. Great! I ordered it at once. David Arquette is so terrible, I had to turn it off. Not to mention the direction of this piece of crap is awful. I recommend listening to the podcast of This American Life instead. Arquette should stick to playing retarded sheriffs in horror spoofs."
Stealing Sinatra has a weak pulse
Michael Bolts | Superior, WI | 02/01/2006
(2 out of 5 stars)
"David Arquette (Scream Trilogy, Stephen King's Riding The Bullet) stars as Barry who has the perfect plan. He wants to kidnap Frank Sinatra Jr., played by Thomas Ian Nicholas (American Pie 1-3, L.A. D.J.) , for ransom of a large amount of money. Coming along for the ride is Barry's friend Joe, played by Ryan Browning (The Smokers, Extreme Days) and Mr. John Irwin, played by the always masterful William H. Macy (Cellular, The Cooler). Macy doesnt think this a brilliant plan but he goes along with it. They kidnap Sinatra Jr. while he was staying in a hotel and bring them back to the place where their gonna keep him. Arquette has Macy take all the phone calls from Frank Sinatra, Sr., played by James Russo so that way they can ask for the ransom money and then when they get it, Jr. will be released. Stealing Sinatra has it moments, it's a TV movie people. Nicholas does a fine job as Sinatra Jr., he sings good too and of course Macy is wonderful but Arquette and Browning are way miscast for their roles. Also starring Evangeline Lilly (Tv's LOST), who was one of those bikini models in that one commercial shoot. Doesnt feel like their was much oomph in this "supposed" comedy...I didnt laugh that much."