The Butler

October 6th, 2013



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The Butler

Plot
As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.

Release Year: 2013

Rating: 5.7/10 (1,129 voted)

Director: Lee Daniels

Storyline
As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.

Writers: ,

Taglines: One quiet voice can ignite a revolution

Release Date:

Filming Locations: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $25,000,000 (estimated)



Technical Specs

Runtime:



Did You Know?

Trivia:
The film's title was up for a possible rename due to a MPAA claim from Warner Bros. Pictures, which released a 1916 silent short film with the same name entitled The Butler. The case was subsequently resolved with the MPAA granting the Weinstein Company permission to add Daniels' name in front of the title, under the condition that his name was "75% the size of The Butler". On July 23, 2013, the distributor unveiled a revised poster, displaying the title as "Lee Daniels' The Butler". See more »



User Review

Author:

Rating:

You'll feel emotions throughout "Lee Daniel's The Butler," but you'd also cry if someone kicks a kitten on TV. Dropping in simplistic scenes of hardship and meager triumph does not a good film make. This is not a good film.

Technically, it's fine. And it's got a lot of stars. Some are hard to spot such as Vanessa Redgrave as a racist Southerner and Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan. But, it's overlong even though the story spans nearly nine decades. In all those years, very little actually seems to happen.

Nothing really happens with our hero, Forest Whitaker as White House butler Cecil Gaines. He does his job quietly. He has very little impact on those around him either at home or in the House. The film is named for this person. It would be nice if he was interesting.

The only real action comes from Cecil's son Earl Gaines (David Banner). Earl takes up the fight for civil rights. But, even he's mostly along for the ride, so while he's not substantial enough for his own movie, without him in this one, I probably would have fallen asleep.

And that's the thing. For all the dramatic tension offered by the subjects of fighting for civil rights in the South and working in the White House, this film is surprisingly boring. Sure, I got to see lots of cameos by famous actors as Presidents of the United States, yet even Robin Williams as Dwight Eisenhower did little to elevate my interest.

Like Forest Gump, the events of history pass by around Forest Whitaker's butler. He is alongside every president from Ike to Reagan. Unlike "Forest Gump," it's never that entertaining.

"Forest Gump" and "Lee Daniel's The Butler" also share a feeling that they take themselves to be significant films saying important things, but I am hard-pressed to say just what those things are. Putting powerful, historical events on screen is not the same as saying something insightful about them.

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