Lakeboat (2000)

Film adaptation of David Mamet's comic play Lakeboat about a grad student who takes a summer job on a Great Lakes freighter and sees life through the eyes of his low-brow crew members.

Director:

Joe Mantegna

Stars:

Charles Durning, Peter Falk, Denis Leary

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Durning	...	Skippy
Peter Falk	...	The Pierman
Denis Leary	...	The Fireman
Robert Forster	...	Joe Pitko
J.J. Johnston	...	Stan
Tony Mamet	...	Dale Katzman
Jack Wallace	...	Fred
George Wendt	...	First Mate Collins
Andy Garcia	...	Guigliani
Roberta Angelica	...	Prostitute
Diane Fabian	...	Janice, Age 50
Lori Gordon	...	Janice, Age 18
Steven Grayhm	...	Fred, Age 18
Jason Jazrawy	...	Joe Litko, Age 20
Patrick Patterson	...	Janice's Husband

Storyline

Coming-of-age tale set aboard a shipping freighter traveling America's Great Lakes. Dale is an Ivy League college student who briefly joins a world-weary crew. Exposed to a seafaring lifestyle which falls short of his literary visions, Dale instead finds the experience rich in unexpected ways. The men's bravado and comical posturing gives way as their lively story-telling reveals more about their mythologized view of life than about what actually may have happened.

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Plot Keywords:

freighter | student | great lakes | summer job | rye whiskey | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and some sexual content

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 April 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fejezetek egy hajónaplóból

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

One Vibe Entertainment, Oregon Trail Films Ltd., Panorama Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Feature directorial debut for actor Joe Mantegna.

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Goofs

Longshoremen are shown moving around bulk cargo on pallets when the ship is in port, despite the fact lakeboats are filled with coal, grain or iron ore. They never carry modular bulk cargo.

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Quotes

Stan: Boy, was I drunk last night.
Joe Pitko: I'm *still* drunk.
Stan: That wine. You drink wine, it dehydrates you. When you drink water the next morning, it activates the alcohol.
Joe Pitko: I'm so hung over I can't see.
Stan: Can't see? I can't even talk.
Joe Pitko: I can't even fuckin' think straight.
Stan: You couldn't think straight *last night*.
Joe Pitko: I was drunk last night.
Stan: You're *still* drunk.
Joe Pitko: Yeah.

User Reviews

This ain't no Pirates of the Caribbean...

This is a movie that should be mandatory viewing at all nautical colleges and academies. It's a (mostly) accurate look into the lives of the men who drive ships for a living. Most people who have ever sailed aboard a ship will probably find this movie hilarious. Such people, however, constitute a small percentage of the general population. This movie is probably hit-or-miss for everybody else, in terms of whether or not they 'get it' and appreciate it for what it is. Lakeboat doesn't easily fit into any particular genre, seeing as there is hardly any plot. The movie instead focuses on characterization, and is aided to this by some relatively unknown but nonetheless well-cast actors. Some of the technical details are wrong, as mentioned in a few of the other comments, but when has any movie ever gotten all the technicalities right? Lakeboat is not an action film; It cruises along at the same slow, uneventful pace as the ship and crew it portrays. If you want a gunfight or an explosion every five minutes, don't even bother. If, however, you like a movie that is insightful, give this one a try. If you've ever been part of a ship's crew, you'll probably laugh to no end; this movie is funny because it's honest. Everybody else, be ready to have your romantic (or literary, according to the summary on this site) visions of the Sailor's life swept away like those of the movie's young protagonist. The stereotypes in the form of the foul-mouthed sailors are exaggerated, but in general the movie his film reflects a truism we jokingly use in this industry: the difference between a fairy tale and a sea story is that a fairy tale begins with "once upon a time," and a sea story begins with "this ain't no (insert four-letter 's' word here)." Lakeboat (generally) tells it like it is.