"The Butler"

A must see, not only for historical value, but wonderful performances by the always brilliant Forrest Whitaker; and I forgot what a good actress Academy Award winner Oprah is..."The Butler" by Lee Daniels is intelligent story telling with the right emotional tone told from the Butler's POV. The story begins in the South around 1926 and shows how the protagonist (Whitaker) comes to get hired as a butler in the White House, surviving several Presidential administrations, from Truman to Reagan. The other side of the story is the domestic strufe between Whitaker's and Oprah's characters, and their two sons. It's ensemble acting at its best, but it is undoubtedly, Whitaker and Oprah's film, with much support from Cuba Gooding , Terrence Howard, Alan Rickman, David Oyelava, Vanessa Redgrave, and the actresses that portray Oprah's gal pals are great. Unfortunately, I didn't catch their names in the credits. Good family entertainment, and be forewarned, it is a tear jerker