Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)

As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.

Director:

Lee Daniels

Writers:

Danny Strong, Wil Haygood (article)

Stars:

Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 18 wins & 50 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Forest Whitaker	...	Cecil Gaines
David Banner	...	Earl Gaines
Michael Rainey Jr.	...	Cecil Gaines (8)
LaJessie Smith	...	Abraham
Mariah Carey	...	Hattie Pearl
Alex Pettyfer	...	Thomas Westfall
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Annabeth Westfall
Aml Ameen	...	Cecil Gaines (15)
Clarence Williams III	...	Maynard
John P. Fertitta	...	Mr. Jenkins (as John Fertitta)
Jim Gleason	...	R.D. Warner
Oprah Winfrey	...	Gloria Gaines
Isaac White	...	Charlie Gaines (10)
David Oyelowo	...	Louis Gaines
Joe Chrest	...	White Usher

Storyline

Cecil Gaines was a sharecropper's son who grew up in the 1920s as a domestic servant for the white family who casually destroyed his. Eventually striking out on his own, Cecil becomes a hotel valet of such efficiency and discreteness in the 1950s that he becomes a butler in the White House itself. There, Cecil would serve numerous US Presidents over the decades as a passive witness of history with the American Civil Rights Movement gaining momentum even as his family has troubles of its own. As his wife, Gloria, struggles with her addictions and his defiant eldest son, Louis, strives for a just world, Cecil must decide whether he should take action in his own way.

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Plot Keywords:

president | white house | butler | hotel | civil rights | 

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Taglines:

One quiet voice can ignite a revolution

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and disturbing images, language, sexual material, thematic elements and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 August 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lee Daniels' The Butler

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$24,637,312 (USA) (16 August 2013)

Gross:

$116,631,310 (USA) (7 February 2014)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Follow Through Productions, Salamander Pictures, Laura Ziskin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robin Williams plays President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In the Night at the Museum (2006) fantasy movies he played a magically-brought-to-life portrait of President Theodore Roosevelt, and in Man of the Year (2006) he played a fictionalized President.

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Goofs

During the Barack Obama campaign scenes on the porch, Cecil wears an "Organizing for America" T-shirt. "Organizing for America" was the post-inauguration Obama organization, started in 2009. During the 2008 campaign it was "Obama for America."

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Quotes

[first lines]
Cecil Gaines: The only thing I ever knew was cotton. It was hard work.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.214 (2013)

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Soundtracks

Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49
Written by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Arranged by Stefano Seghedoni
Courtesy of Chicago Music Library, LLC

User Reviews

Just fiction

I'd first like to say that Forest Whitaker is a brilliant actor. Had it not been for his artful presence and emotion, this would have been a flop. He deserves 10 stars; the film does not. I'd like to say first that this is not a biopic. There is no Cecil Gaines that worked at the White House. None. This story is loosely (very loosely) based on Eugene Allen who worked at the White House for 34 years. He was from Virginia, never worked in a field, never saw his mother violated nor his father murdered, and did not have a son killed in Vietnam. The film really painted this to be the truth and led patrons to believe it was.

Some of the most patently preposterous casting ever was seen in this film. James Marsden is the only one who even came remotely close. Robin Williams is a horrible Ike Eisenhower. He looks more like Harry Truman on Chemo. John Cusack is a ghastly Richard Nixon. The gross miscasting was very distracting and the cast members exhibited little chemistry. It was if I were watching a poorly edited TV drama in many places.

The civil rights story is fine but we've seen it a hundred times and this parroted many of the good movies already made about this movement. So much of it was clichéd. I would have rather seen a movie about Mr. Allen's interaction with the chief executives than a fictional story about blacks and whites, alcohol abuse, and Jim Crow.