The historical drama Lee Daniels’ The Butler hits theatres today and the reviews are already rolling in. The movie, based on a true person, is about a butler named Cecil Gaines (played by Forest Whitaker) who serves as a butler in the White House during the tenure of eight different presidential administrations. The film looks to boast much of the criteria the Academy looks for in its Best Picture category but do you think it’ll measure up? Take a look below at what the pros have to say.
Alongside Whitaker, the cast consists of some big name players like Oprah, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, John Cusack, James Mardsen, Liev Schreiber, Alan Rickman, Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Robin Williams. Of Course, Lee Daniels is at the helm directing.
Watch the trailer for Lee Daniels’ The Butler right here:
John Harti, Seattle Times: “The result is an uneven, sometimes stirring historical drama that can be both heavy-handed and enjoyably sly. At its best, it uses the 1950s/1960s as ‘Mad Men’ does: to illuminate the past by bringing it into focus, often as if for the very first time. Even at its worst, it prefers to stimulate rather than launch another noisy parade of stereotypes.”
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: “‘The Butler’ is a nice idea for a movie, but has a mostly silly script and some of the craziest and most laughable casting imaginable. But the movie’s main challenge is a simple one: It is very difficult, next to impossible, to build a movie around an inert, inactive character.”
Claudia Puig, USA Today: ” A revolving door of stars in quasi-cameos takes the audience out of the movie. Viewers will find themselves musing, ‘Wow, Jane Fonda really looks like Nancy Reagan!’ and ‘Who knew Robin Williams could look so much like Eisenhower?’ or ‘Wait, was that catatonic woman Mariah Carey?’ It is, however, refreshing to see a mainstream film dominated by black actors, in which white actors have small, supporting roles.”
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: “An ambitious and overdue attempt to create a Hollywood-style epic around the experience of black Americans in general and the civil rights movement in particular, it undercuts itself by hitting its points squarely on the nose with a 9-pound hammer.”
Here’s my two cents after you’ve read what the critics are ranting and raving about, though keep in mind I have yet to see the movie myself. The cast is star-studded sure, but some of the character assignments have me raising an eyebrow. I mean, Alan Rickman (Professor Snape in the Harry Potter series for whose who don’t know the actor’s real name) as Ronald Reagan? John Cusack as Richard Nixon when he could hardly pull off Edgar Allen Poe? Don’t even ask me how pretentious I think it is that Lee Daniels attaches his name to the title when he’s only directed one good movie. Sure these men are all talented when it comes to their craft, but for each I think there are more suitable takers that would really up the flick’s ante.
But there is plenty of potential here. Funny man Robin Williams has done dramatic to plenty critical acclaim, while Forest Whitaker has become one of the more sought after leading men of our time. Daniels may be a bit conceited crediting the entire movie to himself in the title, but Precious did take home two statues under his direction.
For those who have seen the movie already or want to, let us know your thoughts and expectations in the comments section below.
