MySportsComplex The great Ving Rhames plays a local Cleveland bookie and some time ex-con maneuvering his way to the top of the nascent and dynamic world of pro boxing.Rhames, best known for his role as Pulp Fiction's gang thug Marcellus Wallace, plays a different type of tough guy and hustler in the form of an animated and verbally combative Don King; a persona he nails. Only in America also cameos Bernie Mac, Jeremy Piven and the late soul singer Lou Rawls.For as much as other films like Any Given Sunday and Jerry Maguire have endeavored to depict the perceived evil, cutthroat and slimy nature of sports promoters, Only in America does so not by belaboring its players as bad people. Rather Don King's character is flamboyant, very human, and so exciting that, as he puts it "If you didn't have Don King, you'd have to invent him." written by Andy Frye, MySportsComplex.blogspot.com

Brian-272 Call him flamboyant, egotistical, arrogant, a manipulator, self-centered, controversial love him or hate him Don King is without a doubt boxing greatest promoter in the history of boxing. Now after many viewings of Don King: Only In America I have come to realize and respect not only the accomplishments of Don King, but also his life in general. The 1997 HBO Original Movie portrayed in biography style as told through mostly the viewpoints of Don King himself, and by the way I must just mention Ving Rhames was great in his portrayal of King Ving's looks and voice fit that of the real Don King perfect it's like they are actual twins. The film begins in 1950's in Cleveland, Ohio when King was a street ghetto organized crime member who at the time was way down the food chain and generally got the short end of the deal in many ways. King was then incarcerated for four years for manslaughter when he brutally beat to death a man who owed him a debt. It was while in prison King got the idea of being a boxing promoter when he heard the radio broadcast of Ali-Frazier in March of 1971. Upon his release from prison and with help of good friend and club singer Mr.Price and his stepson Carl a benefit was organized when Muhammad Ali was invited to a children's hospital in Cleveland therefore money was raised to help start King's career as serious boxing promoter. Perhaps in boxing's most historical fight Ali vs. Foreman "The Rumble In Jungle" Don King showed his brilliance and smarts by having both Ali and Foreman to both sign for the same amount of money in the meantime neither would get the promised amount of money they were told. That fight turned out to be one of boxing's most successful thank god for Don King. King later parted ways with Foreman then later Ali. As King made Ali pay for his greediness King said it best there's more to life than Allah. King later promoted perhaps the best and most marketable fighter of our time the terrorizing Mike Tyson, now you talk about a good money investment. Don King is the most intelligent individual of our time you name it he can outsmart the FBI, IRS, state athletic commissions hey and I'm proud because we know how corrupt those authority agencies have come thank god for Don King! I'm proud to say Don King is a hero of mine because he fought for what he believed in. Be thankful folks for what he has done for the sport of boxing with his crusading for the sport. This movie is a must see for any boxing fan, I have it recorded and view it often. Finally Don King said it best it's all about entertainment heroes and villain I agree. Who can blame Don for his love of money. Like a respected friend told me money is what the world has come to sadly but surely. So admire Don King. Remember Money! Money! Money!

camel-9 the quality of this movie surprised me. The editing, dialogues, and screenplay flow is superb. Tough for an actor to act to be Don King, an actor himself. Learned new english words too: "tried to DISMERCIFY me". I would reccomend that the viewer see first "When We Where Kings", the documentary of the Ali-Foreman fight in Zaire, because a good 20 minutes of this movie re-enacts many scenes straight from the documentary. There are imaginative scenes and dialogues: how the character impersonating Don King talks to the camera [audience] saying how HBO is making a movie on him; stunning beginning in which a scene from the past is bridged to the present zooming in on the footsteps on a stairway, then zooming out to see the entire figure walking of a much older person.

Doctor_Bombay Don King is a self-promoter the likes that few have seen in our lifetime. This film takes a novel approach to telling the King story, blowing KING up into as big a buffoon as possible, and using King himself (actor Ving Rhames) in telling the tale. I give director John Herzfeld credit-it's a novel and appropriate approach to the biography of a man who truly is more caricature than real.Rhames gives an inspired and convincing performance as King, breathing much life into a film from a book that was for all practical purposes stillborn.Enjoy the movie for Rhames and pay little attention to the details.