You can’t go full retard and expect to win an Oscar! I’m
paraphrasing Tropic Thunder there a bit, but honestly they were on to something
in that silly little movie, there really is a simple formula that exists in
Hollywood if you want to get nominated for an Academy Award. This is especially
true if you’re a black actor and more specifically a black woman. You either
get physically and verbally abused your entire life while possibly getting AIDS
like Whoopi Goldberg (Color Purple) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), let some
dirty old man bang you sideways in the longest sex scene ever while you beg for
it like Halle Berry (Monster’s Ball), or be a maid for white people like…well,
every black woman ever who’s been cast this role. Speaking of Billy Bob
Thorton, he really should’ve killed himself after Monster’s Ball; it was all
downhill for him after that. He was dating Angelina Jolie in her hottest and
craziest time and he then got paid to grope and make out with a naked Halle
Berry for days! That bastard!
Anyway, Hattie McDaniel was the first to win back in a day
when 90% of Texas still thought slavery was legal. Taraji P. Henson was nominated
for taking care of an old Brad Pitt and everyone in The Help was nominated for
everything they did that year (including commercials) because of their roles in that movie.
So Forest Whitaker decides that it’s his turn to get an easy
nomination, and why not, it worked for Morgan Freeman in Driving Miss Daisy didn’t
it? He plays the role of Cecil Gaines, a man who moved his way up from being a
child slave working in the fields, to becoming a butler in The White House for
5 different Presidents. As they tell his story they also tell the
story of his boy Louis Gaines (David Oyelowo) and his personal fight against
social inequality and prejudice against skin color. One is unknowingly changing
stereotypes of black men and their work ethic by taking pride in their work and
doing so with class and dignity, while the other is taking action to change
America’s culture by joining the Freedom Fighters, Martin Luther King’s movement, the Black
Panthers (in a negative response to Dr King’s assassination) and eventually
Congress.
Along the way however, not only do they both face challenges
in their own occupations but they also fight with one another constantly. Louis
is ashamed of his father’s profession and Cecil cannot understand why his son
continues to defy him and consistently puts his life in danger. And I haven’t even
gotten to the fact that Cecil’s wife now resents his job and the fact that it
takes away time that he can spend with her.
The acting in this movie is solid all the way around. Whitaker kills it as
the proud black man that has worked his way up so that his family doesn’t have
to go through what he did. But at the same time he knows exactly how he has to
act around the White House to not cause any waves. This at times can be
unbelievably frustrating for the viewer because it’s like having access to
Superman but given your situation, all you can really do is sit there and
admire his cape. If Whitaker is nominated, it would definitely be well deserved.
Oprah also deserves a nomination, and it’s not just because she will draw 100
million women to the movie simply because she’s in it. Based off of what she did in this movie and
her unbelievable performance in The Color Purple, she really could’ve been the
black Meryl Streep. But as it turns out she’s too busy living out her Pinky and
the Brain fantasy of ruling the world, which is getting closer to becoming a
reality each day. The only parts that weren’t believable were when she had to
kiss a man in a scene. It was seriously like watching a straight male actor
kiss another man on camera; yes they are doing it but you can tell that they
want to get it over with as quickly as possible.
Cuba Gooding Jr is probably the most memorable supporting
actor in the film. I know women will disagree with me because Lenny Kravitz is
in it but Cuba was so excited to be a part of a real film again that he actually steps up and owns his character. It helps that he is basically playing a role that
encapsulates how the world views him now, but Marky Mark did the same thing in
The Departed and it got him an Oscar nomination, so why couldn't it work for Cuba? Here’s to hoping that playing the
role of a joke cracking butler lands him in the sequel to the overlooked Hopkins vehicle, Instinct.
“Splendad!!!” As my buddy Don says “Greatness is rarely recognized in its time”.
He just happened to be talking about Nicolas Cage at the time.
If you can overlook some of the silly casting choices they
made for a few of the presidents, you will find yourself immersed in a film
that gives you a realistic view of racism, heartache, and even hope. It doesn’t
matter how many times you see the horrific acts that took place during the
Civil Rights movement or the results of Vietnam, you cant help but be moved in
some way. I hate to gloss over the fact that Mariah Carey actually looked hot in this movie, David Banner pops in for a bit, and Oyelowo was on point as Cecil's son, but I can only write so much.I rate this movie as FRESH and suggest that you pop in.
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