This is an American history told by following the fortunes of White House butler Cecil Gaines (a fictional character though based on a real one) who served Presidents from Dwight D Eisenhower through to Reagan.
We race through the early part of the story which consists of the young Gaines witnessing his mother raped and father shot dead by a member of the family who own the cotton plantation they work on. In no time at all, Gaines has grown up a bit, applied for and got a position at the White House.
The contrast from then on is Gaines’ desire to fit in with the establishment, against his son Louis who is a rebellious but intelligent member of the Freedom Civil Rights movement. It is all a bit heavy-handed and it’s impossible to get much depth into the history lesson, which is a whistle-stop tour of American history popping in at all the best-known points.
Forest Whitaker as Gaines is as good to watch as he always is, and it’s a real surprise to me to find out how good Oprah Winfrey is in her role as Gaines’ wife Gloria. We measure the passage of time by the progress of Forest Whitaker's hair.
The Presidents are mainly played as caricatures. JFK (James Marsden) is bland, and while we see a bit of philandering from Gloria Gaines, there is none from JFK. If he is too favourable, then Nixon (John Cusack) is far too unfavourable. Both Robin Williams as Ike and even more so, Alan Rickman as Reagan, are positively bizarre. However Jane Fonda makes an excellent Nancy (who thought we’d ever say that of Hanoi Jane?)
Because of the two leads it is quite enjoyable but it is not a serious contribution to our knowledge of America.
