Lee Daniels' The Butler Reviews
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
Sometimes uneven but always sincere, 'Lee Daniels' The Butler' is a dramatic history of civil rights as seen through the eyes of a White House butler who served several presidential administrations.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/4
Us Weekly
Amusing stunt casting aside, it's riveting to observe how civil rights evolved from inside the Oval Office
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| Original Score: 3/4
Mark Leeper's Reviews
This film is a little melodramatic, seemingly contrived and predictable, but nonetheless can deliver a strong emotional impact.
Full Review
| Original Score: 7/10
American Profile
The dramatized arc of one man's long, arduous but finally glorious and transformative journey across time reminds us of just how far America has come.
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| Original Score: 3.5/5
Seven Days
When the movie focuses on the free-wheeling, irreverent banter among the butlers, or takes us home with Gaines, it gets more interesting.
Full Review
| Original Score: 6/10
Top CriticA high-minded, didactic, but irresistible entertainment ...
Reel Film Reviews
The film's compulsively watchable vibe proves to be short lived...
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/4
TheMovieReport.com
Whitaker's ever-observing, ever-expressive eyes tell the tale of how he actively processes, thinks, and feels even if outwardly he may appear as nothing more, as his job requires, than a virtually invisible bystander.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/4
Cinemalogue.com
It doesn't have enough confidence in its story without introducing various heavy-handed gimmicks to manipulate audience emotion.
jackiekcooper.com
Good story about a White House butler but too episodic in order to get all Civil Rights events included.
Full Review
| Original Score: 7/10
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Daniels certainly flirts with greatness, and even if he doesn't quite get there -- except on occasion -- he's made a very worthy film.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
Sacramento Bee
Oprah Winfrey is great at everything. This is no news flash, but it's as apparent as ever when watching Lee Daniels' The Butler.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/4
Atlantic City Weekly
Whitaker's steadfast performance as an ordinary man in extraordinary times is what makes 'The Butler' so special.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/4
Laramie Movie Scope
Despite the awkward, narcissistic title and the oddity of seeing John Cusack playing Richard Nixon, Robin Williams as Dwight Eisenhower, Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan and Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan, this is a good film.
Full Review
| Original Score: B
Antagony & Ecstasy
A film with its heart very clearly in the right place, and its imagination left behind in a locked root cellar.
Full Review
| Original Score: 6/10
Old School Reviews
Instead of rolling out historical content like a mighty stream, it only trickles weakly
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| Original Score: C
Forest Whitaker imbues his part with immense dignity and the old-age makeup is effective showcasing Cecil during his later years.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/4
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)
Uninvolving bio-pic about a man who just happened to be around when things happened. Latter day Zelig fails to grip.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2.5/5
