''Rat Pack Rat'' is a 2014

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

, written and directed by

Todd Rohal Todd Rohal is an American independent filmmaker. Career Rohal attended filmmaking classes at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Between 1997 and 2001 he directed four short films: ''Single Spaced'' (1997), ''Slug 660'' (1998), ''Knuckleface Jones ...

. The film had its premiere at

2014 Sundance Film Festival The 2014 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 16, 2014 until January 26, 2014 in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City, Ogden, Utah, Ogden, and Sundance Resort in Utah. The festival opene ...

on January 17, 2014. It won the ''Jury Award'' at the festival. The film later screened at ''2014

SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...

'' on March 8, 2014. It also marks the final motion picture performance of Eddie Rouse, who died on December 7, 2014, of liver failure.

Plot

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

impersonator An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone: *Living history: After close study of some historical figure, a performer may dress and speak "as" that ...

, was hired by a

Rat Pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of singers that, in its second iteration, ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business friends, s ...

fan's mother to perform on his birthday.

Cast

* Steve Little as Rat Pack fan *

Eddie Rouse Eddie Rouse (July 2, 1954 – December 7, 2014) was an American character actor whose feature film credits included ''American Gangster (film), American Gangster'', ''The Number 23'', and ''Pineapple Express (film), Pineapple Express''. Rouse sta ...

as Sammy Davis Jr. impersonator * Margie Beegle as mother

Reception

''Rat Pack Rat'' received mostly positive reviews from critics. Kat Smith of ''The Hollywood News'' gave the film four out of five stars and praised the film by saying that "This short will keep you engaged and guessing where the story is going right up until the last minute." Liz Whittemore of ''Cinemit'', gave the film a positive review that "Rat Pack Rat will leave you with mouth gaping open at the end, it is worth every cringe-worthy second."

Accolades

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 3394946, Rat Pack Rat 2014 films 2014 drama films American drama short films Sundance Film Festival award–winning films 2014 short films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films Films scored by Joseph Stephens English-language drama short films