DEAN MARTIN: KING OF COOL (2021) ¢ ¢ ¢
D: Tom Donahue
How Dino Crocetti, a cocky, fun-loving Italian kid from Steubenville, Ohio, became Dean Martin, singer, actor, television star and straight man to Jerry Lewis. Martin's approach to his work was so outwardly casual, it didn't look like work at all, but he had an innate sense of what he could do, and what his limitations were, and he was lucky. Over time, he invented a public persona that became indistinguishable from the man behind it, and he seemed to like it that way. Even those who were closest to him admitted they didn't know who he really was. That's what this documentary is getting at, and it's an interesting (and somewhat sanitized) portrait of an unlikely enigma, the carefree, booze-and-a-cigarette image providing the perfect cover for a guy who became his own disguise.
For a more comprehensive and less reverential look at Dean Martin's life, the Movie Buzzard recommends "Dino", an insightful, unsparing biography by Nick Tosches.
