The Night We Called It A Day Review

Some men are legends. Their names ooze class and style. Women want to be with them and other men simply want to be them - and one such fella was Frank Sinatra. This charming flick from director Paul Goldman though revels in one of Ol' Blue Eyes worst moments when he managed to offend a nation during his 1974 tour of Australia. Annoyed by a scuffle at Melbourne airport on his arrival, Frank lashed out one night onstage called countries press "bums" and "parasites" (and much more besides). Before he knew what was happening the Aussie unions had blackballed him though, making the Chairman of the Board a virtual prisoner in his hotel room until he apologised. But there are two things Frank never does; yawn in front of the women he loves and say sorry. Goldman's movie follows the events through the eyes of Rod Blue (Joel Edgerton), a young promoter who has everything riding on Sinatra's tour being a success as he tries to smooth over the scandal and get everything back on track. Meanwhile Rod's assistant Audrey (Rose Byrne) is desperately hoping to win her bosses heart.

Strangely it's taken almost three years for this movie to find its way into UK cinemas. But we're glad it's here now because "The Night We Called It A Day" is actually quite fun. Ok it's unlikely that it'll ever hold up as an accurate documentary of the events - fictional characters mix with the real while others are ruthlessly parodied - but one man who is left as is is Sinatra, played wonderfully by Dennis Hopper. True the man can't mime to save his life but he does bring an air of authority to his portrayal of an old friend.

Despite a rather whet romantic subplot and some Antipodean stereotypes, "The Night We Called It A Day" is an entertaining pastiche of one of the less salubrious chapters of Ol' Blue Eyes distinguished career.