Review of The Butler (2013) by Ulla D — 01 Jul 2015

"Lee Daniels The Butler" tells the true story Cecil Gaines, a black butler who served in the White House for five Presidential terms. The story starts with the rape of Cecil's mother and murder of his father. He was about 10 years old at the time and he and his family worked in a house in the fields. Cecil's father worked with Cecil in the fields. After seeing his father murdered, he gets trained to be a house servant. Later, when he's a young adult, he decides that being a house servant isn't the right path for him, runs away to the North, and gets a job working in a hotel. From that hotel job, he gets offered a job at the Excelsior Hotel. While working there, Cecil gets a job working at The White House, where he stayed through the Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Johnson, and Reagan administrations.

Although extremely well made and in my humble opinion one of Lee Daniels' best films, I do have to say it dragged in some places. That being said, the casting is fantastic. My only complaint is that Robin Williams didn't look a lot like Eisenhower, but that's moreso in the hair and makeup department than casting.

The PG-13 rating is certainly appropriate. There are some scenes that are disturbing and inappropriate for children. You see the demise of Cecil's father, a father and child hanging, and brutal beatings during protests just to name a few. There is also the death of Cecil's youngest son, and although we don't see it, it may bother some young viewers.

"Lee Daniels The Butler" does have some great aspects to it, which can be used as educational conversation starters with teenagers. We see U.S history unfold before our eyes. Some of the topics other than the Presidents themselves (which can also be great conversation starters) include Little Rock Nine (the racial integration of nine black students in Little Rock, Arkansas), the Equal Rights protests, and the Vietnam War. A great movie choice for history buffs!