King of Cool (2021) User Reviews

Rough Realities Beneath the Image of Mr. Smooth

[frankwiener · 7/10 · 2 January 2022]

Based on the information in the ten user reviews of this biography to date, I may be the oldest person in the room as I grew up with Martin and Lewis on television during the 1950's and 60's. For what it's worth, my father, who owned a bar featuring live entertainment in downtown Newark, New Jersey, was a personal acquaintance of Jerry Lewis, but I do not know the extent or depth of this relationship, and he is no longer here to explain it.

I am much more of a fan of Dean Martin as a superb, silken singer who developed a unique, easygoing style than as a comedian or an actor, but his performances in "The Young Lions", "Some Came Running", "Rio Bravo", and "Ada" are very noteworthy. The airing of this biography together with these films by TCM would have been a nice touch, but you can stream them at your convenience whenever they are available on TCM . I am the proud owner of a wonderful album entitled "Dino: The Essential Dean Martin" generously offering 30 of some of his greatest songs. For inspiration, I am playing it now. An extraordinary singer with a distinct voice and tone, there is only one Dean Martin, and he can never be duplicated.

Overall, this was a very good documentary on the life of Dean Martin and his meteoric rise to fame from very modest beginnings in Steubenville, Ohio. It allowed me a rare opportunity to witness a sometimes painfully honest account of a man who made a huge impact on me during my most impressionable years. I very much appreciated the views of those who knew him best, especially his devoted daughter, Deana. I was very moved by her love for her father as well as her candor in explaining the full story, or at least as much of it as she was willing to reveal.

What totally wrecked the film for me were the appearances of individuals who apparently did not know Martin at all and who seem to be unfamiliar with the totality of his work as a performing artist. For me, the appearance of Alec Baldwin, who provided absolutely no insight or contribution whatsoever, was downright disturbing. Jon Hamm seemed to be reading from notes, and I received no benefit at all from RZA's segments. I felt as though these individuals were thrown into the production only for purposes of attracting a wider audience. They not only added zero value to the film but substantially reduced its overall effectiveness. Without their annoying presence, I would have rated this very worthy effort more highly.

Finding the unknowable man

[gr_spur · 8/10 · 20 November 2021]

Admittedly, I didn't know very much about Dean Martin other than his public persona. After seeing Rio Bravo recently, this doc was an opportunity to learn more.

The insight into his real personality is fascinating. It's a difficult job to construct a profile of a man who made a point of being unknowable. The filmmakers probably came as close as possible.

How Lucky Can One Guy Be?

[boblipton · 7/10 · 22 November 2021]

Dean Martin was a leading entertainer for more than thirty years. First in partnership with Jerry Lewis, then on his own, he conquered the movies, television, records, with a great talent and an air of not caring what happened. This documentary shows that at the very beginning, with flubs from his TV show that he waves off. That leads a lot of the people to speculate that they didn't know him, from his family to the people he worked with for decades.

In actuality, I think that, besides a fine singing voice, he had the ability that great straight men have: the ability to listen to his comic, observe the audience, and slow things down to feed lines at just the right pace. It's why, I believe, the live shows he did with Lewis were such riots, while their movies not so much. It's why the partnership broke up; to be seen as singing a couple of songs and standing by while your partner gets all the laughs is galling. Abbott & Costello had their fallings out; not everyone is George Burns.

And yet the habit persisted. After the partnership with Lewis broke up, his big prestige movie was Howard Hawks' RIO BRAVO. Studio executives, looking at the rushes, wanted to know when Martin was showing up. Hawks said "That's him, right there on the screen, playing the drunk."

Standing aside, letting John Wayne and Walter Brennan stand center stage: I'm not sure I believe the story but it kind of fits, doesn't it?

A must-see if you are at least in your mid-50's!

[MoviesRmything · 10/10 · 21 November 2021]

I didn't expect much from this documentary. No idea of how well it was put together or what depth of research was made. BUT this was very professionally made, and in every important aspect.

I'm 61 now and can recall watching Dean Martin in movies and his TV show as a kid. I knew something about his rise as a singer, the Martin & Lewis phenomenon, the Rat Pack, the fallout with Jerry Lewis, marriage problems, and the devastation of his son's tragic death. This was all presented in a very coherent and professional manner.

The man's entire life is covered very well here, and very entertainingly so. It was engrossing from the first few minutes and all the way to the end. Injected interviews were spot on...not too short, not too long. In many ways it was a sort of blast from the past, and I enjoyed it tremendously.

It's been a very long time since feeling compelled to write a review on IMBD. In fact, I had to create a new user account to post this. But I felt it was necessary to share my impression after just having watched it.

Well Done Doc for a Grand (and cool) Entertainer!

[srkoho · 9/10 · 20 November 2021]

A must see for any full blown or half curious Dean Martin fans. This documentary captures a nice glimpse into what and who Dean Martin was, both in his professional and personal life. Many funny moments as well a narrative recollection from many who were close within his circle. After seeing this informative piece I have a desire to make.pasta fagioli!

Very Well Done Documentary On One Of Our Greatest Entertainers

[ScarletPimpernel64 · 10/10 · 4 December 2021]

It's safe to say Dean Martin has never gotten his due, and the filmmakers do a wonderful job of rectifying this. They show the man not only as an outstanding all-around entertainer, but someone who never really knew what he wanted. They cover every aspect of his life, and do so very well. I was entertained, enlightened, and saddened.

A cool documentary about a cool guy

[tody711 · 9/10 · 11 December 2021]

I remember some of his music and 'antics' with Jerry Lewis. But I learned a lot more from this documentary. He had such a cool voice. I watched it twice.

The age old mystery resolved ... it was Jerry's fault the famous comedy duo parted ways

[Ed-Shullivan · 6/10 · 12 June 2022]

Like many hard working men and women, we see how hard and long Dean Martin worked to hone and expand his talent and maintain the love of his large and faithful fan base. This documentary provides some good insights into who Dean Martin, the singer, Vegas performer, and film star really was. It provides us with insight that Dean didn't have any time for phonies and preferred to go to his room after a hard day on stage or in front of the camera. He valued honesty and loved his family, and his family loved him back. He married and divorced three times if you don't include his marriages to his comedy partner Jerry Lewis and/or to his Vegas Rat pack buddies.

Hearing stories from the people that knew him best/well provided further insight into Dean Martins humble beginnings and family life and losses as when his son died in a plane crash and once again the King of Cool seemed to hibernate and reluctantly but very selectively socialized with family members and close friends until his death.

On the day he died he was telling his old friend Frank Sinatra a joke about two corpse's when one corpse says to the other corpse "Is that you coffin?"

Rest in Peace Dean from one of your loyal fans.

straight doc praising Dean

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 22 January 2023]

It's a documentary on the iconic Dean Martin. It's a lot of talking heads singing his praises. Some are modern stars who never met him and lauded his coolness. It's a straight forward reiteration of his personal life and career. It's his friends, family, and general admirers. Of course, any bumps are smoothed out. I really like the stars who spoke out of personal experiences. The family has the more personal stuff. Jerry Lewis takes the hit for his divorce and their own breakup. His son does speak on his behalf and that saves it from being too slanted. This is for and by Dean fans. It's a slice of old happy Hollywood even during his decline. His son's death is his low point. All in all, this is a great human story.

Enjoyable but probably a film best enjoyed by those who know a lot about Martin and his amazing career.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 28 November 2021]

I am very glad I watched this film with my daughter, as the film impacted both of us very differently. As a 57 year-old guy, I know I lot about Martin. I've seen most of his films and remember his weekly TV show. My daughter, on the other hand, knew little about him apart from his music...and her reaction to the film is important but quite different. And so, it seems that depending on your age and familiarity with the man will greatly impact on your viewing experience. Much of it is because the film seems to assume you know a lot about Dean Martin...and my daughter had to ask me repeatedly to fill in a few gaps.

The film itself is interesting because there's no narrator. Instead, lots of folks talk about Dean Martin and their recollections of him. Many of these pieces of footage are great...such as from his family and friends. However, a few left me confused as to WHY these people were talking about Dean Martin as they most likely did NOT know the man and were not experts on him. Jon Hamm and the guy from the Wu-Tang Clan were VERY oddly included...as were a few others.

If you are looking for a film about Dean Martin and not his career, this is a very good film. But when it comes to his career, there are a few glaring omissions (such as any mention of his "Celebrity Roasts" or even his individual films with Jerry Lewis). Overall, a very good film with a few problems...which I mentioned above.

Lovely review of a super entertainer

[craftologysj · 9/10 · 7 June 2022]

This was a really good information packed documentary, showing the real life of Dean, but why did we need comments from Alex Baldwin, or the coloured guy?? (Sorry I have no idea who he is?? ) They didnt make sense as they probably never appeared or worked with the star himself.

But I really enjoyed seeing the reels and posts of Dean in earlier years and from the people who knew him and worked with him, and the family stories. He seemed like a really nice man who loved a family life. I grew up in the 70's listening to him as my mother had been a major fan, so we loved his songs and his funny rapport especially with the Rat Pack.

dean martin, king of cool

[mossgrymk · 7/10 · 10 December 2021]

From a laughably stupid premise, namely Deano as Charles Foster Kane, complete with...are you ready?...pasta fagioli as the key to unlocking his "mystery", this documentary actually manages to be kinda fun, maybe because its subject was the kind of guy who would have told film maker Tom Donahue where to stick his pasta fagioli. Lots of good stuff on the Martin/Lewis feud (my sympathies are ultimately with Martin at having to put up with a too controlling "genius") and some heart breaking stuff on Dean's later years. I thought there was way too much time spent on his variety show (like everything else about the guy in this film, hyper inflated) and the talking heads tended toward the hagiographical and over protective rather than the insightful and critical, but all in all I had a pretty good time watching this bio doc about a good singer, decent actor, and very good golfer for whom I have newfound respect since I learned (from this documentary) that, unlike his fawning pal Frank Sinatra, he refused to attend JFK's inauguration out of support for Sammy Davis who was not invited due to Kennedy family racism. B minus.

Superficial

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 6/10 · 27 December 2021]

I like Dean Martin as much as the next non-Italian. His singing was sublime. His acting under-estimated.

But do we really learn anything new in these two hours? Born in Steubenville. Fortuitous partnership with Jerry Lewis that turns the duo into superstars. The fallout. The comeback helped by Sinatra. The TV show. The marriages. The decline.

We get some decent dirt. Norman Lear says on the days when Dean was on fire, comedy-wise, Jerry was balled up in the corner with a tummy ache. Being the godfather of American television and still razor sharp even at nearly 100 years of age, I was hoping the film-makers would go further with Lear and juicy gossip might actually turn into genuine insight. As it is, we're left with the implication that Jerry resented Dean's comedic gifts, whereas I grew up hearing from the pre-Boomers that Dean resented Jerry's act-hogging. Considering it was the entertainment industry's biggest breakup prior to The Beatles, I wanted more.

We also gain no insight into why Sinatra got Martin booked The Sands or why they connected on music, acting or personally. And we're pretty much asked to believe that the beautiful, graceful-as-a-cat, clear-eyed Dean of the 50s and even up to the early years of his TV show wasn't drinking himself into a stumbling stupor about halfway through his TV run.

Instead, we get notable firearms expert Alex Baldwin saying things such as, ''Martin and Lewis were huge!" And Jon Hamm reading some kind of transcript. Plus more than a couple of industry geezers taking cheapshots at Jerry Lewis. I found it distasteful.

On the plus side, since I'm post-Boomer, I got my first decent taste of the Dean & Jerry magic. And Dino's comedic and musical charm from his TV show. If somebody repackages that stuff for DVD release, I'm buying it.

THE ONCE & EVER KING...!

[masonfisk · 7/10 · 22 April 2022]

A TCM documentary from last year on the consummate entertainer. Tracing his roots from Ohio to the top of the heap who skirted on his great looks, effortless way around a song & his innate talent & featuring talking heads like his daughter, the RZA, Jon Hamm, et al who chart his early days as a crooner, his hugely popular partnership w/Jerry Lewis (which turned ugly when Lewis started exercising more power over their relationship), his film roles which led him becoming a member of the Rat Pack & finally his popular TV show which ran for about a decade. Through it all, for all the outward good will he displayed, his failed marriages, the death of his son & his inability to connect soon showed a dark side to his persona where even his own nearest & dearest couldn't get in but through it all Martin still remained an timeless enigma which garnered him praise from all comers.

Decent, but not amazing

[jellopuke · 7/10 · 2 December 2021]

This is a surface level, cliff notes version of his life where you get the standard talking heads and archival footage. You're not really going to learn anything deep about him, nor are you going to get a stronger appreciation for him if you don't already have one, but it's a well made movie and worth seeing for fans.

Nicely done, but I don't believe for one minute that story about the inauguration

[bettyegriffinunderwood · 7/10 · 7 June 2022]

The story is (repeated here by Martin's daughter Deana) that Dean Martin didn't attend JFK's inauguration out of support for Sammy Davis. I personally don't believe it. My suspicion is that Dean just didn't like JFK (I've never seen him in the celebrity campaigns for JFK, either, and THAT wasn't done out of support for Sammy, who was present). He seemed to be a pretty astute fellow...sold his interest in the Cal-Neva casino before the feds stripped Sinatra of his co-interest (and we know what happened between Sinatra and JFK). Not trusting JFK was a wise move on his part...