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The Butler is a masterpiece. The acting is phenomenal. The story is fantastic and intriguing. It was interesting to see such a person deal with the different styles of politics throughout the years. It was also interesting to see how his family had to deal with everything. One thing I would have liked to see was either someone playing Barack Obama at the end of movie or at least the man himself. I mean the guy that played him Orlando Eric Street had filmed some scenes, but they were cut before the film came out.
There are a lot of musical personalities who play characters in this such as David Banner (Rap), Mariah Carey (Pop), Lenny Kravitz (Funk/Pop), and I guess you could say Terrence Howard is kind of a rapper (Djay from Hustle & Flow). All of them do well with what they are supposed to do in this.
You know when you see Oprah Winfrey in a movie it or involved it should be taken as a serious film. That is exactly what this is as it has some sad scenes. It has a lot of serious topics of the times that are dealt with and done well in my opinion.
I enjoyed Cuba Gooding Jr., David Oyelowo, and Nelsan Ellis as I think they did their roles very well. There are a few other familiar faces that don't have much screen time and their names aren't really considered big yet which include Elijah Kelley, Yaya Alafia, Jesse Williams, Danny Strong (Although he has been around for a few decades, and Michael Rainey Jr. (a slightly new young face who has already done a few interesting films).
At first when I heard Nelsan Ellis was going to play Martin Luther King Jr. I thought that he couldn't pull it off and I thought he didn't really look like him. When I watched it I thought the performance was alright, but he wasn't exactly on screen long enough to be considered good or bad.
David Oyelowo is a remarkable actor and plays various ages of Cecil Gaines' son Louis from I think his late teens to quite a bit older and actually pulls it off really well.
It was interesting to see some somewhat big and some kind of big actors playing brief roles like Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Robin Williams, John Cusack, Liev Schrieber, James Marsden, Minka Kelly, Alan Rickman, and Jane Fonda.
Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave didn't do too much, but it was nice to see them. They did well with the brief time they were given. Alex Pettyfer character caused a bit of drama with having I think the briefest time on-screen. Minka Kelly didn't do much at all I think.
Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower was another role I questioned. I actually thought he did pretty well to my surprise. I mean yes Robin Williams can act and can do serious well. I know that. I just didn't think he fit the part until I saw the movie. Apparently Melissa Leo had originally been in this as Mamie, but her scenes were cut.
John Cusack played a believable Richard Nixon. I thought he did pretty well. Not much else to really say about it though.
Liev Schrieber as Lyndon B. Johnson was well done and actually kind of hilarious. A little bit of comedy in an otherwise serious movie about racial topics.
James Marsden was wonderful and charismatic as the young John F. Kennedy. I thought he was quite enjoyable and did well. John F. Kennedy was a great person and did a lot for the USA. It was good to see him played so well.
Last but not least Alan Rickman as the great Ronald Reagan! I think he had the longest screen time of all the presidents and was one of the sweeter ones. I thoroughly enjoyed him in this and the way he played Reagan was great.
Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford were themselves in archive footage so there is nothing to really say about that.
Anyways I really enjoyed this. My wife did as well. Yes some parts drag out a bit, but it is worth getting through to the end.
