Don King: Only in America (1997) (TV)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

John Herzfeld

Writers (WGA):

Jack Newfield (book)
Kario Salem (teleplay)

Release Date:

15 November 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Plot:

A cinematic portrait of the famous fight promoter and boxing manager.

Plot Keywords:

Boxer | Manager | Mike Tyson | African American | 1980s

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 8 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Ving Rhames	...	Don King
Vondie Curtis-Hall	...	Lloyd Price
Jeremy Piven	...	Hank Schwartz
Darius McCrary	...	Muhammad Ali
Keith David	...	Herbert Muhammad
Gabriel Casseus	...	Jeremiah Shabazz
Loretta Devine	...	Connie Harper
Brent Jennings	...	Dick Sadler
Lahmard J. Tate	...	Carl King
Danny Johnson	...	Larry Holmes
Bernie Mac	...	Bendini Brown
Donzaleigh Abernathy	...	Henrietta King
Lou Rawls	...	Harold Logan
Teddy Atlas	...	Richie Giachetti
Jarrod Bunch	...	George Foreman

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, some violence and nudity.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:MA | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Home Box Office (HBO)

Quotes:

Don King: If you didn't have Don King, you'd have to invent him.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 55th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1998) (TV)

Not A Pretty Picture Of A Flamboyant Man

Kudos to Ving Rhames for a job well done as the flamboyant boxing promoter Don King, who is still with us in the boxing game, although he's toned down quite a bit. I'll bet Rhames had a lot of fun playing this role. King, meanwhile, will always be King, and you ring fans know what I mean by that. Still, I wonder if he doesn't cringe watching this biography of him.

As interesting a career as Mr. King has, that doesn't mean I enjoyed watching this movie. It's extremely racist, at least in the first half which turned me off so much I don't recall if even finished the film. All white people were portrayed as bad people. How is that permitted, when the opposite is not. Just the typical double standard employed by most filmmakers.

However, to be fair, King was a bad, bad dude in his early days and the film is portraying that. He's a much different person today. It's just that it's not fun to watch, nor is the profanity in here fun to hear. I don't mind "language" since I'm no choir boy, but this is ridiculous in here. Don't let the "made-for-TV" label fool you. It was made for HBO, and anything goes on that network.