The Butler

The problem with The Butler is that it's a Lifetime movie wrapped in the clothes of an Oscar hopeful, trying to fool everyone into thinking it has a chance at the Academy Awards. And the funny thing is, after three weeks (and counting) atop the Box Office list, it probably does have a chance. Of course it will probably be nominated because I find it tiring, boring and absolutely disappointing. That's the way I usually always feel about the front runners who, more often than not, end up winning (see also: Slumdog Millionaire, The Artist, He Whose Name We Do Not Mention On This Blog (I.e. The King's Speech).

So, The Butler, or rather Lee Daniels' The Butler, is no Oscar hopeful, in my opinion. In fact, it's messy and distracting, heavy handed and really, just a big ole' mess. Lee Daniels' is someone who evokes strong feelings from his audience, typically, but he is not being daring here. This is the safest movie he could have possibly made. The story is interesting and the performances are great, but the delivery leaves a lot to be desired.

The story begins in the 1920's when Cecil Gaines was a small boy working in a cotton farm with his parents (mom was Mariah Carey for some reason). After his dad's death (at the hands of Alex Pettyfer!), mom goes a little crazy and the boy is brought in the house and taught to be a house servant. Years later, he leaves the farm and goes to South Carolina where he finds a job working for a hotel. He finds his way to a promotion to a hotel in Washington D.C. (where he is suddenly played by Forest Whitaker) which leads to the ultimate job for a butler - the White House! He quickly becomes one of the most dependable and well liked workers at the White House and ultimately serves under the tutelage of seven different administrations from Eisenhower to Reagan. These presidents (and their wives) are played by a distracting parade of celebrities who look absolutely nothing like the people they are portraying. From John Cusack as Richard Nixon (no, really) to Liev Scrieber as LBJ and James Marsden an Minka Kelly as the Kennedy's, it's all a star-fu**ing parade that does NOT work.

Of course, what does work, is the story line involving Cecil's son Louis (David Oyelowo), who starts out as a college student at Fisk who wants to make a difference in the Civil Right's movement. He starts out preaching a message of love and following the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King. But after his death, his love turns to hate and he joins the Black Panther movement. His story, involving being arrested dozens of times, riding the Freedom Buses, having run ins with the KKK, and more, is, for me, the heart and soul of this movie. Oyelowo is absolutely riveting and easily the best thing about the movie. I wish this would have been his story, rather than his fathers. Although I did enjoy the way they sort of tied in that his father really was making a difference during these times too, not by getting arrested and protesting, but by changing the way the white men thought of the black man, by being a reliable, hard worker that helped break down stereotypes.

Whitaker's performance is great, too. He is quiet and restrained, a million miles from his Oscar winning role as Idi Amin a few years ago, but just as powerful. And, of course, Lee Daniels has a way with Supporting Actresses. He directed Mo Nique to a well-deserved Oscar as the terrifying mother in Precious. He directed Nicole Kidman to her sexiest, sultriest performance ever in The Paperboy. And The Butler's strong, supporting female performance comes courtesy of Oprah Winfrey, who is in the early Oscar talks for a reason. Her boozy, head strong wife and mother is a revelation. For weeks, all I've heard is, "This is Oprah's first acting role in 15 years," and all I've kept saying is, "Well, she's not an actress." But, she definitely delivers in this film and is both funny and heartbreaking, sometimes in the same scene.

All in all, however, Cecil Gaines was a great man with a fascinating story. But like Jackie Robinson whose life was presented to us in the mediocre 42 earlier this year, he deserves better than this paint-by-numbers movie that tries to be so many different things it ultimately fails at what it is - the story of a man who quietly helped change the world. All the star cameos (and there are even more than what I just mentioned, including but not limited to, Terrence Howard, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Robin Williams) are just distracting from the story that is as much a story of one man as it is about Civil Rights. The Butler had an opportunity to be a singular movie about a certain period of time, but it ultimately is just a messy movie with great performances.

Grade: C