Lbj: The Early Years

Although we generally have as much sympathy for made-for-TV movies as we do for okra, LBJ.. The Early Years is an uncharacteristically well-written and admirably acted docudrama. Randy Quaid plays LBJ, with Patti Lupone (Evita) as Lady Bird. The film opens with Lyndon getting his butt kicked out of Washington, where he was a senatorial secretary during the mid-'30s; hitching up with Lady Bird; and eventually making a successful bid for a vacated Congressional chair. The famous stage collapse, appendectomy, and nod toward what was to become a standard Johnson trademark (the showing of the scar) follow with Johnson's rise into the Senate (as well as the infamous liaison with Alice Glass.) Particularly interesting is the battle between Bobby Kennedy (impressively played by James Kelly) and LBJ, as the latter assumes his role as a hand tied vice-president. This is a sympathetic, but not sanitary portrait of Johnson, that moves very quickly through its two-hour plus length by giving the audience believable characters and meaty drama. Highly recommended. (Available from most distributors.)