The Butler

Hope y'all are enjoying a great weekend.  The Mister took the day off so we took our #2 to see a movie of my choice.  As a matter of fact, we ordered the tickets for the show three days ago because I could not wait to see it.

I wrote the first review and the second one is penned by my #2.

  

The movie was inspired by the true story of Eugene Allen, a butler, who served eight US Presidents in the White House.  The central focus of the movie did not center as much around the White House as it did about his personal family story.  It follows the civil rights movement with deep emotion and clarity.  Threads of race and class run throughout the movie. But I felt the central theme was powerful, enduring, family love.  

Forest Whitaker stole my heart as Cecil.

Oprah did such a great job playing Cecil's wife I forgot she was Oprah!   

I laughed and I cried in this movie.  It was a heart-warming story that also managed to detail a very tumultuous time in history.  I highly recommend it if you are looking to see a movie this weekend. 

*****
And now a review from my #2.

A review from the perspective of the younger generation:

“The Butler,” starring Forrest Whitaker, is a racially provocative movie that traces one man’s life from slave-boy to star butler at the White House. If you’re expecting a movie filled with table settings and shoe shining, you are seriously mistaken.

The entire period was captured in this movie. From the costuming to the humor to the race riots, it had it all. The most unbelievable part was that it is, in fact, a true story.

Mariah Carey opens the movie with an emotional family scene that, surprisingly, determines Whitaker’s life’s work. Mariah is nearly unrecognizable in the movie.

Then there’s Oprah; an unlikely surprise. She plays the role of the Butler’s wife, invoking comedy and a little romance. She had the audience laughing more than once, playing a convincing wife.

The two boys were absolutely wonderful. Portraying two completely different brothers, they captured their roles. One of the brothers is supporting Black Power as the other joins the army. The latter actually ad-libbed some of his material according to my mom’s synopsis of Oprah’s interview with Andy Cohen.

Whitaker didn’t fail to impress in his role as the butler. He musters respect for the unrespectable as he showed the two people that he is – himself and the butler.  Bringing tears and even a laugh in the end, Whitaker takes on the role of the butler wholeheartedly.

Definite recommendation. And that never happens. 

Hope you're having a good one!

Bo Obama