Lee Daniels’ The Butler tells the story of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), a butler in the White House who serves eight presidents. Director Lee Daniels tries to do too much in this film. There’s an entire sub-plot with Cecil Gaines conflicting with his wife (played ably by Oprah) and his eldest son. Then there’s the interaction between the butler and the Presidents (which could have been more detailed). I have several quibbles with this movie. There’s no way Robin Williams looks anything like Dwight D. Eisenhower. Liev Schreiber is too young to play LBJ. There’s no way John Cusack resembles Richard Nixon. And it’s jarring to realize Alan Rickman is under all that make-up as Ronald Reagan. Bizarre casting choices! But Lee Daniels’ The Butler manages to portray the racial changes in the United States from 1926 to 2008 in vivid fashion. I found the pacing choppy. GRADE: B
Sounds like this would have been better as a mini-series. Oprah’s name is probably what is going to make this a hit but I’m not surprised the unbalances the film – it’s what i call the ‘Streisand’ factor …
Sergio, THE BUTLER is a like an overstuffed sausage. Too much going on.
Does anyone remember the miniseries from about 30 years ago, “Back Stairs at the White House”? That’s the first thing I thought about when I read about this movie.
Deb, my wife watched BACK STAIRS AT THE WHITE HOUSE and loved it. I’ll have to check to see if it’s on DVD.
Deb, AMAZON has a 4-DVD box set of Backstairs at the White House (1979) for $38.63. I ordered it.
Me too, Deb! That was my exact thought. It was Leslie Uggams and Olivia Cole (who was in a lot of stuff between ROOTS in 1977 and the late 1980’s but not much since) and Louis Gossett, Jr. The Presidents were Taft through Eisenhower, and without even seeing the new one I know Andrew Duggan was much better casting than Robin Williams. And Harry Morgan was Truman.
Jeff, the casting of the Presidents in THE BUTLER is bizarre. It jarred me when Robin Williams appeared as Eisenhower and took me right out of the movie.
Also George, I read an interview with Daniels where he said he did the stunt casting (Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan) in an attempt to get white viewers to come see it. It may have helped the box office but lost points on credibility.
Jeff, I had no problem with Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan. There’s some resemblance there. But John Cusack as Nixon. Come on!
MY thought too. The trailers didn’t turn me one. Perhaps having the Presidents played by unknown actors would have helped. Films like this have such a good intention but you end up critiquing makeup too much. I think it will do well enough but I am not too tempted to see it.
Patti, if Lee Daniels had focused on the butler’s live in the White House or focused on the story of the butler’s troubled son or focused on Oprah’s character’s story the movie would better. As it stands it’s a ball of confusion.
I think Jane was good casting, actually, though certain people (*cough* Cap’n Bob *cough*) wouldn’t see any movie she was in.
Jeff, I understand the strategy of including plenty of white actors to draw in a white audience. But ROOTS had a largely black cast and whites tuned in.
George, this is the most positive review of the film I have seen, and that’s not saying a lot with the reservations you had. I believe they could have better told this story without ever showing the face of a single president, and without Oprah or any bog name stars (while Oprah is a big name, I do not consider her a star, except in her own mind). I remember that Back Stairs series, though I saw only part of it.
George, this is the most positive review of the film I have seen, and that’s not saying a lot with the reservations you had. I believe they could have better told this story without ever showing the face of a single president, and without Oprah or any big name stars (while Oprah is a big name, I do not consider her a star, except in her own mind). I remember that Back Stairs series, though I saw only part of it.
Rick, there’s so much going on in THE BUTLER that the film has an identity crisis. I agree that no Presidents needed to appear (except for Reagan because of another sub-plot on staff compensation). Just focusing on the butlers in the White House could have provided plenty of story-lines. But the issues with the butler’s son, Oprah’s adultery, and racial conditions during those years overwhelm the movie.
There’s no way I’d see a film with Hanoi Jane in it, and I’m not that keen on Oprah. Most of the reviews I’ve read are negative and I hear it’s bombing at the box office.
Bob, there were about 50 people in the audience when we saw THE BUTLER Saturday night.