Synopsis
The story of U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson from his young days in West Texas to the White House.
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Cast
- Woody HarrelsonLyndon B. Johnson
- Michael Stahl-DavidRobert F. Kennedy
- Richard JenkinsSen. Richard Russell
- Jennifer Jason LeighLady Bird Johnson
- Jeffrey DonovanJohn F. Kennedy
- Bill PullmanRalph Yarborough
- Brian StepanekRufus Youngblood
- Tim RansomLarry O'Brien
- C. Thomas HowellWalter Jenkins
- Doug McKeonHubert H. Humphrey
Recommendations
- 75
Chicago Sun-Times
It’s a well-calibrated performance, with Harrelson convincingly conveying how Lyndon Johnson felt the weight of the world on his shoulders and took on that challenge in mostly admirable ways. - 70
Arizona Republic
LBJ, Rob Reiner's film, benefits greatly from an absolutely all-in performance by Woody Harrelson as the former president. But it also benefits from the current president, or at least the current administration. - 63
Movie Nation
The height and the way he used it should have been addressed. The film, like the player cast as its lead, is too short to do the subject justice. - 63
Washington Post
I suspect that none of these actors had as much fun bringing to life the cagey and colorful political vulgarian as his fellow Texan, Woody Harrelson, seems to be having in LBJ, crudely and rudely drawling his lines behind a wall of latex makeup, plus-size prosthetic ears and horn-rimmed glasses that obscure his own facial features. - 50
Slant Magazine
By pairing down Lyndon Baines Johnson’s multifarious life and career to this one piece of legislation, the film fails to do justice to both the man and the fraught times he so fundamentally influenced. - 50
Consequence
Though Harrelson’s performance is nothing if not memorable, it lacks dynamism. His tone and cadence, though booming, becomes familiar as the film barrels on, and the plasticine nature of his prosthetics is distracting.... It’s a good performance, but not a layered one. - 50
Austin Chronicle
No wonder the movie feels something like a retread: It gets you there, but the ride is neither nowhere as smooth, nor nearly as compelling. - 50
Boston Globe
It’s an entertaining piece of Hollywood waxworks if you don’t set your expectations very high and it’s probably the best movie Rob Reiner has directed in more than a decade. (This only sounds like a compliment.)
