Director: Lee Daniels

Writer: Danny Strong

Based On: Article (A Butler Well Served by This Election) by Wil Haygood

Starring: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., David Oyelowo, Lenny Kravitz

Tomatometer: 72/79/83 (all critics, top critics, audience)

Spoiler-free Summary: Cecil Gaines leaves the cotton farm on which he grew up to become a butler at The White House.  Through eight presidential terms (1952-1986), he witnesses history from the front row.

Two Cents: Oprah Winfrey has not acted in a live action movie (non-animated) since 1998’s Beloved, for which she also served as a producer.  Oprah’s extended hiatus from acting is just one reason she was a curious choice to play Gloria Gaines in The Butler.

Lee Daniels’s latest film is already somewhat famous for having 41 producers.  In essence, that means over 40 individuals contributed some portion of a $30 million, in order to get this movie made.  Surprisingly, Oprah was not one of those people.  Sure, it can be surmised that Oprah didn’t believe in the movie enough to sink her cash into it.  However, I don’t buy that.

I’m not one to spend other people’s money, but $30 million (or any portion of it) is rather insignificant to Oprah.  Plus, with the cast the Daniels was able to assemble, this movie was never going belly up.  My guess is Oprah wanted this opportunity to prove that she can truly act.  She didn’t want to be the kid whose parents donated a library, so he could go to Harvard.  Undoubtedly, Oprah’s commitment to appear in the movie was an important consideration for investors, as her presence all but guaranteed decent box office numbers, but we won’t hold that against her.

I respect Oprah’s attempt at proving her acting legitimacy, but, unfortunately, the queen of daytime television falls short in her role.  Many people believe that talent elevates talent.  For example, a great quarterback can make mediocre receivers look like hall-of-famers.  In many cases, though, talent can differentiate itself like water floating on oil.  In The Butler, the lead roles are inhabited by incredibly talented actors.  Of the three male leads, two have won an Oscar, and the third was nominated for one.  That’s intimidating company for anyone, let alone a woman who’s been sitting on a couch for the last 15 years.  Oprah does a decent job, but she is so outmatched by her screen partners that she overreaches, at times, and comes across as amateurish.

Let’s spend some time talking about the good actors!  Forest Whitaker was mesmerizing in The Last King of Scotland.  Without question, he is one of the most skilled actors of his generation.  In this film, he portrays such an extensive range of emotions, it’s impossible to imagine a role he couldn’t play.  His performance, though understated, is remarkable.

Cuba Gooding Jr. is a tragically underused actor.  Despite an Oscar for his performance in Jerry Maguire and stellar performances in Men of Honor, Radio, and others, he only seems to pop up every so often, and almost exclusively in roles that demand an African American male.  He’s too good to spending so much of his time on straight-to-DVD garbage.  Plus, he plays ice hockey!  On the regs!

One of the highlights of this movie is the parade of presidents that wafts through the story.  The performances are, as a whole, pretty darn good.  Liev Schreiber as Lyndon Johnson and John Cusack as Richard Nixon are the most impressive, but the cameos are all fun.

I’m hoping for an Oscar nomination for Debra Denson, the head of the makeup department.  I won’t bet on it, but she deserves one.  She did a superb job with all the characters, especially Oyelowo’s Louis, Robin Williams’s Dwight Eisenhower, and Schreiber’s LBJ.

I recently criticized the lack of realistic racism in 42.  While watching Daniles’s film, I specifically kept my eye out for his treatment of our country’s embarrassing history of prejudice.  As strange as it sounds, Daniels nailed it.  While 42 made me feel bad for Jackie Robinson, having to put up with a few morons, The Butler made me feel disgusted, exhibiting racism as the grotesque, widespread hysteria it truly was.  There’s no question, it was far worse in real life, but Daniels’s depiction of American racism and segregation seems incredibly authentic for a movie with a PG-13 rating.

Should I/Shouldn’t I: The Butler is not a top-flight biopic, and it’s not a thrilling work of historical fiction.  It is, however, a (generally) superbly acted feel-good movie that provides an unprecedented glimpse into the most famous residence in the Western Hemisphere.  The unique view of American presidents offered here is fascinating, if not surprising, and Cecil Gaines’s front row seat to history is reminiscent of Forrest Gump’s.  The script is unremarkable, but the story is quite the opposite.  If you enjoy American history, you’ll appreciate this journey through one of its more dynamic eras.

Sundae Rating: Two scoops with whipped cream