Review: White House. Golden Oprah. Lee Daniels' The Butler

This review was originally published in my column at Towleroad

Somewhere in the vast middle of LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER, a movie about a White House butler who served US Presidents from the Eisenhowers through the Reagans, there's a terrific agitated scene in which we leave the butler behind to check in on his wife Gloria. Gloria (Oprah Winfrey) and Howard (Terrence Howard), the neighbor she's turned to from loneliness, argue on a couch. Howard is trying to sweet-talk his way back into her bed. Gloria, guilt-ridden, distracts herself with chain smoking, occasionally side-eyeing him as if he were a buzzing nuisance and, damn, where is her fly swatter? Slick Howard begins spinning two of her clothes hangers in the air to visualize their parallel worlds. Gloria reacts with extreme annoyance to the comic pleasure of the audience -- Oprah gets one laugh after another, all of them blessedly intentional, in her rousing return to the big screen. 

It's a weird but lively domestic hothouse scene that feels, at first, largely divorced from the movie containing it, a somewhat duller "greatest hits" tour of America's civil rights journey. But in its own peculiar way it's also the movie's key scene. [more...]

Click to read more ...

Podcast: "Butler" History & "Elysium" Nonsense

On this week's podcast Joe, Nick, Nathaniel and Katey discuss Foxcatcher's release date, and Elysium's fast fade nonsense from unsanitary exoskeletons to Jodie Foster's unplaceable accent.

But the bulk of the conversation is devoted to Lee Daniels' The Butler which has us all confused. Is it a terrible movie with good moments or vice versa? Whatever it is it might well be an unmissable oddity given all the celebrities crammed into it from Mariah Carey to Vanessa Redgrave and the ability to see Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey in matching track suits. 

We'll also tell you which celebrities weren't in the movie that should have been. You can listen to the podcast right here or download it on iTunes. 

The Butler & Elysium

Lee Daniels' The Butler: New Title, New Poster, Same Movie

Have you seen the new poster for Lee Daniels' The Butler? Here it is. 

new poster and old poster

I like it and here's why: It looks more like a Lee Daniels movie than that stately original poster. The first poster could have been for any movie that was going the prestige FYC route. It could have been a film made by anyone, and probably someone less crazy than Lee Daniels. That's a safe assumption, statistically! Whether you love or hate his movies -- three to date: Shadowboxer, Precious, The Paperboy -- you have to admit that they're non-generic. They don't feel like they were made by committee. At all.

The silly war over the period drama's title concluded too quickly for me to finish my "Suggested Alternate Title" joke post (since I was doing mock posters. I promise it was funny. sniffle) but PERSONALITY is why I like the new poster and the retitling to Lee Daniels' The Butler. 

 The more people hear your name, you know? It's why hip hop artists say their name so much in their songs. It's why Tyler Perry puts his name before every title. It might be vanity, sure, but it's also savvy business. Once your famous enough you can do this even if you aren't the director which kinda sucks for the guy who did that job - see Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) which is actually a Henry Selick movie! 

Lee Daniels presents... OprrraaaaaAAHHH

poll by twiigs.com

I've always wondered why studio marketing doesn't try to push director's names more. In this modern era where even amateurs understand the basics of personal branding, the studios are not capitalizing on or trying to build fanbases for their directors which seems like both a dumb and a dick move. Even a director as constantly successful as James Cameron often gets the "From the Director of..." without his name attached in commercials which is just stupid if you ask me. Everyone who has a unique vision, even if a lot of people hate that vision, should be trying to build a fanbase. 

The Link (To Be Retitled)

The Guardian I have to admit I'm mystified by this MPAA ruling against TWC's The Butler using that rather generic title. They'll have to rename it but any random search on IMDb will prove that a ton of movies have the same title. Why is it an issue this time - especially with a century separating the titles?
Variety The Venice Film Festival will open with Gravity (albeit out of competition). Nice get there on the Lido
Empire Steven Spielberg beats Robert Redford to the rights to remake The Grapes of Wrath which is a pity really because Redford wanted to make it into a miniseries which would at least not be competing directly with the 1940 film classic

MPAA is excited about the Veronica Mars movie with this pic from the set. Confession: I have never been able to tell the cast members of this series apart. (I'm having the same problem with the third season of Teen Wolf in which all the women except Lydia have long dark and relatively straight hair)
Tribeca Joe Reid picks the five best performances of the year from Brie Larson to Greta Gerwig
/Film looks forward to The Wizard of Oz 3D/IMAX makeover with a trailer
Playbill asked readers which films Disney should give the Broadway stage treatment to. Good, unexpected and terrible choices mingle among the suggestions. FWIW I could totally see Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Hocus Pocus working theatrically. You?

Yes, No, Maybe So: The Butler

abstew here with another edition of "Yes, No, Maybe So". Tonight's trailer of choice Lee Daniels's latest, The Butler. Oh, and please be gentle–it's my first time...

When last we caught up with the Oscar nominated director, he was dishing up a heapin' helpin of some southern fried, kitschy, camp in The Paperboy. I think people were a little surprised to see that the follow-up to the Oscar-winning Precious involved an Academy Award winning actress peeing on the star of the High School Musical movies. And, well, surprisingly the Academy didn't feel the need to shower that film with any gold of its own. So, just how will the decades-spanning Butler fair? Will it be more Precious (Oscar noms for all!) or more Paperboy (um, the Razzies are next door...) Let's take a look!

YES

• One word: OOOOOooooPPPPPPppppPPPRrrrAAAAaaaAAAAaaAaHHhhh!!! [more]

Click to read more ...