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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Lakeboat
Panorama Entertainment
MPAA RATING: R for strong language and some sexual content
Starring
Charles Durning,
Peter Falk,
Robert Forster,
J.J. Johnston,
Denis Leary,
Jack Wallace,
George Wendt,
and
Tony Mamet
Based on David Mamet's comic play, this is a depiction of the lives of sailors on the shipping freighters of the Great Lakes seen through the perspective of a young sailor working his way through college.
| GENRE(S): |
Comedy
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
David Mamet
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Joe Mantegna
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: September 24, 2002
Video: September 24, 2002
Theatrical: April 13, 2001
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
98 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
Canada / USA |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
83
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
The most pure of Mamet's works to come to the screen.

80
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
Mr. Mantegna, who as an actor is one of the leading interpreters of Mr. Mamet's work, gives generous room to the movie's first-rate ensemble.

75
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
A must-see for Mamet fans.

75
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Mantegna gives us just enough detail, enough exterior shots, so that we feel we're on a ship. All the rest is conversation and idleness. The lake boat is a lot like life.

75
Portland Oregonian
Kim Morgan
It works for the most part, though some scenes come off contrived or directed without flavor. But thanks to the likable, rough-hewn crew and Forster, the film flows along gruffly and with eloquence.
70
New Times (L.A.)
M.V. Moorhead
Forster is the reason that even non-Mamet-heads might consider giving Lakeboat a shot. It's worth it just to see him in his long one-take exchange with Johnston about booze, but he's remarkable throughout.

70
Film Threat
Michael Dequina
Beautiful moments of performance such as Forster's subtly spellbinding monologues -- make for compelling cinema.

70
LA Weekly
F. X. Feeney
Mamet's fixation on language is, nonetheless, more effective onstage than onscreen, where the technical and visual requirements distract from the sounds of the words -- the heart of Mamet's work.

63
Boston Globe
Jay Carr
Feels a bit flat and underdeveloped.
63
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
Though Mantegna can't quite lick the essential staginess of Mamet's adaptation of his play, even with lots of scenic shots of Lake Ontario, the performances are what one would expect with such a consummate actor in charge.
63
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
Students of acting will appreciate the relish with which the characters bite off juicy chunks of dialogue.
60
Village Voice
Amy Taubin
Forster not only makes this unlikely story emotionally believable, he moves you to tears. Lakeboat isn't much of a film, but for Forster fans, it's indispensable.

60
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
Brought to the screen awkwardly but ardently by Mamet-actor supreme Joe Mantegna in his feature-directing debut.

50
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Thomas
Lakeboat requires its audiences to embrace it as lovingly as Mamet and Mantegna embrace its men, but it's a lot to ask.

50
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
Film feels like a parody of Mamet mannerisms, and the trouble lies with the play, which Mamet first penned some 25 years for an Actors Equity showcase.

50
Chicago Tribune
John Petrakis
Though this film shows flashes of the electric writer Mamet was to become, Lakeboat is mostly distant thunder over choppy waters.
40
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
The most striking thing here is a performance by Robert Forster, as one of the older men on the boat, that's so terrific everything else in the picture pales beside it.

30
Variety
Emanuel Levy
So fractured and so awkwardly staged that end result is an uninvolving film thats dramatically inert and artistically shapeless.


The average user rating for this movie is 9.5 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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