BJ: Directed by Rob Reiner and written by Joey Hartstone
This biopic comes not long after Jay Roach made his version of the LBJ with Bryan Cranston entitled All The Way. That was a much better film. It focused on one aspect of his life and his presidency rather than offering just fragments of who the man might be. This was a distracting meander through the Wikipedia page of LBJ from before he ran with Kennedy as vice president to just after he became president and addressed congress.
This is also one of those movies where they use make up in an attempt to make the actor look like the real person. It doesn't work. Instead they look like wax figures come to life delivering dialogue and trying to emote through their plasticine mask. The performances are fine if you're able to ignore this insane red dot of distraction staring you right in the face. Woody Harrelson is just too much himself in this film. The way he talks is so distinctive that it is almost impossible for him to disappear inside of a character. Normally I'm okay with this but that horrendous make up job is attempting to mask his normal persona which his voice betrays.
This is also a rather schmaltzy dull movie. The score swells in the areas they wish you to respond at. It didn't work for me. It usually doesn't and much like the make up, this was glaring in its shameless attempt at pandering to base emotions. This could have been really good especially if it dug deep into who LBJ was as a person outside of his public persona. It tried to do that a little bit but it isn't enough.
One of my favorite movies is Nixon from Oliver Stone. That movie is so visually interesting and it moves like a bullet while still retaining the humanity of someone society views as detestable. Anthony Hopkins sounds like Nixon somewhat but he focuses more on becoming who Richard Nixon was behind the scenes. This movie needed to take pointers from this film. I know it is too late for this lesson. I'm merely shouting to the ether any cosmic filmmaking god who might be listening for future presidential biopics.
Skip this one and check out Bryan Cranston in All The Way instead. I give this movie a D.
This biopic comes not long after Jay Roach made his version of the LBJ with Bryan Cranston entitled All The Way. That was a much better film. It focused on one aspect of his life and his presidency rather than offering just fragments of who the man might be. This was a distracting meander through the Wikipedia page of LBJ from before he ran with Kennedy as vice president to just after he became president and addressed congress.
This is also one of those movies where they use make up in an attempt to make the actor look like the real person. It doesn't work. Instead they look like wax figures come to life delivering dialogue and trying to emote through their plasticine mask. The performances are fine if you're able to ignore this insane red dot of distraction staring you right in the face. Woody Harrelson is just too much himself in this film. The way he talks is so distinctive that it is almost impossible for him to disappear inside of a character. Normally I'm okay with this but that horrendous make up job is attempting to mask his normal persona which his voice betrays.
This is also a rather schmaltzy dull movie. The score swells in the areas they wish you to respond at. It didn't work for me. It usually doesn't and much like the make up, this was glaring in its shameless attempt at pandering to base emotions. This could have been really good especially if it dug deep into who LBJ was as a person outside of his public persona. It tried to do that a little bit but it isn't enough.
One of my favorite movies is Nixon from Oliver Stone. That movie is so visually interesting and it moves like a bullet while still retaining the humanity of someone society views as detestable. Anthony Hopkins sounds like Nixon somewhat but he focuses more on becoming who Richard Nixon was behind the scenes. This movie needed to take pointers from this film. I know it is too late for this lesson. I'm merely shouting to the ether any cosmic filmmaking god who might be listening for future presidential biopics.
Skip this one and check out Bryan Cranston in All The Way instead. I give this movie a D.