22 years after enthralling audiences with the political fairy tale that was “The American President,” director Rob Reiner returns his sights to the Oval Office with a real president as his subject in “LBJ.” However, teetering between portrait and caricature, the film lands in a safe neutrality that strikes barely deeper than a fairy tale itself.
In its aspects approaching portraiture, the film captures a sensitive side to Johnson (Woody Harrelson); an insecure man hiding behind an enormous ego. A senator says of Johnson that he “is afraid no one will vote for him.” Lady Bird Johnson (Jennifer Jason Leigh) responds, “He’s afraid people won’t love him.” It adds a beautiful complexity to the politician, humanizing him through self-aware statements like “I could walk on the Potomac and, the next day, the headline would read ‘Johnson Can’t Swim.'” His inferiority complex certainly doesn’t wither in the enormous shadow of John F. Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan).
“I’ve never seen a movie star look that good on TV,” Johnson shakes his head watching coverage of JFK’s campaign. Equally handsome Bobby Kennedy (Michael Stahl-David), assigned by his brother to handle Johnson after the 1960 election, furthers the divide between the Vice President and the administration. Even after JFK’s death and and his swearing in as president, Johnson still struggles to believe he is enough to satisfy the American people, at one point dejectedly carrying a carton of ice cream to the bedroom after overhearing staffers agreeing that JFK’s death left an emptiness no other man could fill.
“When I was a boy I had a dream. I’d rather it not happen this way.” This is, perhaps, the film’s most insightful glimpse inside the head of the man forced to take the reins of government in the midst of one of America’s greatest tragedies. Any further exploration, unfortunately, was sacrificed for laughs.
Enter the parodic Johnson, loud and vulgar, drawling lines such as, “Sometimes you think the Lord is giving you lemons but he’s giving you big, beautiful titties,” and “You can’t keep sending me those flimsy suits, you see, my nuts hang down.” This Johnson holds meetings on the toilet and threatens to chop off senators’ “peckers.” With transitions rivaling the irreverent wit of “Arrested Development,” and the natural eccentricities of Harrelson’s prosthetics, the film practically offers a Cinderella “dreams do come true” satire with the moral, “if you wait patiently enough for an assassination, even you can become president.”
The film’s remarkable acting nearly forgives any of these flaws of story. Harrelson effortlessly sinks into Johnson’s persona, and his ability to juggle both the ludicrous and vulnerable strikes deeper than any sense of impersonation. Leigh delivers a strong, refined performance despite the limitations of the archetype of the doting wife of troubled man and Donovan and Stahl-David perform with a hard-to-come-by quality that is undoubtedly Kennedy.
Their performances combined with beautiful cinematography reminiscent of the Academy-Award winning “The King’s Speech” qualifies the film as a must-see despite its dueling perspectives. You may not glean any new insights about Johnson but, in a world built on princesses and godmothers, it’s hard to resist the story of an underdog. Just beware: this princess has a potty mouth.
Elena Burnett is the Editor-in-Chief of District. She’s a writing major who will graduate in 2019.
