Lakeboat (2000)

83% of critics liked it
(42 reviews)
61% of users liked it
(869 ratings)

Renowned character actor Joe Mantegna makes his directorial debut with this film adaptation of one of David Mamet's first plays, boasting such onscreen talent as Peter Falk, Charles Durning, and Robert Forster. Based on Mamet's experiences of working on Great Lake freighters while a grad student,… More Renowned character actor Joe Mantegna makes his directorial debut with this film adaptation of one of David Mamet's first plays, boasting such onscreen talent as Peter Falk, Charles Durning, and Robert Forster. Based on Mamet's experiences of working on Great Lake freighters while a grad student, the film centers on Dale (Tony Mamet, David's brother), an Ivy League college kid working on the Seaway Queen on an internship one summer. Though his romantic vision of life on the sea is soon dashed, he befriends a half-dozen members of the world-weary crew and learns about the unexpectedly rich -- and occasionally tragic -- lives they lead. This film premiered at the 2000 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By: Joe Mantegna
Written By: David Mamet
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Jun 1, 2000 Wide
On DVD: Sep 24, 2002
Studio: Oregon Trail Films

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, Variety
Based on Mamet's experience as a freighter on the Great Lakes while a grad English lit student, Mantegna's screen version is so dramatically inert and artistically shapeless resulting in an uninvolving memory film.
Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
Watching it, you come to understand what it is that Mamet has been true to all these years.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
A first-rate movie made from one of David Mamet's lesser plays.
Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News
Where Mantegna succeeds is in providing a forum for some great acting.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Lakeboat requires its audiences to embrace it as lovingly as Mamet and Mantegna embrace its men, but it's a lot to ask.
Jane Sumner, Dallas Morning News
As with any Mamet script, the cast is all, and these old boys take his macho monologues and make them sound like Homer.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
This plotless film is filled with a zillion little nostalgia stories that are both pointless and irritating, but some stories can also be devilishly charming.
Steven Leigh Morris, L.A. Weekly
Mamet's fixation on language is ... more effective onstage than onscreen, where the technical and visual requirements distract from the sounds of the words -- the heart of Mamet's work.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
Mamet knows people so well that you can forgive his lack of actual story once in awhile.
Chris Wiegand, Boxoffice Magazine
For the most part a lot of fun, with some fine performances from a mature cast.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
As drama, it's not much; as a meditation on language and storytelling, it's a treat.
Nick Carter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Viewers learn that these salty guys have salty imaginations and that Mamet's a master at capturing their thoughts in discursive detail.
Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Joe Mantegna... brings just the right tone of easy gab and tossed-off tales to this actor's showcase.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
'Yeah. It's alright.' 'Good enough for me.'