If you were chosen to be the servant of some of the world's most powerful men would you do it? Also, provided that you can't listen to any conversation and must act like a piece of wallpaper while doing your duties. Sounds like a lot of fun especially to any history buff out there and it is even cooler that someone in the course of this nation's history was given this rare chance. Cecil Gaines' story spans throughout 3 decades and 7 presidencies as he had experiences nearly no one else can top while inside America's most recognized residence.
Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) plays Cecil, the man behind the tray, along with his loving but confused wife, Gloria (Oprah Winfrey) who I will take the liberty in saying were the only two actors well-cast into their roles. The commanders-in-chief are all collectively played by [a serious] Robin Williams, John Cusack, James Marsden, Liev Schreiber, and [an American] Alan Rickman. Given the plot points and time period, there is a considerable amount spent with the Kennedy Administration which was enjoyable but would have been even nicer if the same attention was given to the other gentlemen he had the privilege to serve.
The Civil Rights Era is something that we have seen in movies time and time again. One way to describe this adaptation of it would be "the black Forrest Gump." There is violence, hatred, and disgusting hate-crimes that illustrate the way things happened back then. Lee Daniels explores the ugly truth that racism embodies and takes the audience on a interesting tour inside The White House but one believes he may have come up a bit short with the construction of this movie in its entirety. Daniels, who is best known for his critically-acclaimed film Precious, packs his latest installment with some heavy names in Hollywood and pop-culture but where this movie could have used some more details it ended up lacking them in the end.
Besides the presidents depicted in the movie, the supporting cast includes David Oyelowo (Lincoln) as Louis, Cecil's hot-headed, right-seeking older son, also, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Lenny Kravitz as Cecil's fellow butler buddies, and Terence Howard. With so many year changes needed in one movie, it played against his favor for Lee Daniels to carry this film farther than it needed to go. Don't get me wrong, The Butler is solid movie portraying the inspirational story of a man living in a world that hates him and delivers a strong message that just could have been conveyed a little differently. Serving ones country has more than one meaning, after all. Grade: 7/10
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