LBJ

Lyndon Baines Johnson undoubtedly had his eye on the White House during his tenure as Senate Majority Leader, but being a canny pragmatist he agreed to run as John F. Kennedy's Vice President after failing to win the 1960 Democratic nomination. “You have more experience, more talent, and more wisdom,” Kennedy admits. “Unfortunately, this is politics and none of that matters.” When Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan) is assassinated on November 22, 1963, Johnson (Woody Harrelson)—along with his supportive wife Lady Bird (Jennifer Jason Leigh)—is suddenly thrust into the Oval Office, much to the disgust of his longtime adversary, Attorney General Robert Kennedy (Michael Stahl-David). The racist Southern caucus, led by Georgia's venomous Senator Richard Russell (Richard Jenkins), assumes that LBJ will torpedo Kennedy's contentious Civil Rights Act, only to discover that LBJ is determined to solidify Kennedy's legacy by championing the causes on which he won the election. As Johnson cynically says: while charismatic Kennedy was the “show horse,” he's the “work horse.” Under LBJ's leadership, the Medicare, Medicaid, and Head Start programs are also implemented. Directed by Rob Reiner, this historical biopic is unfortunately underdeveloped and even contrived at times, but also weighed down by a jumbled, non-linear time frame that becomes a major distraction. And Johnson's escalation of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War is barely mentioned. Wearing a toupee, prosthetics, horn-rimmed glasses, and platform shoes, Harrelson delivers a powerhouse performance, although he never quite captures LBJ's ability to intimidate his adversaries. A strong optional purchase. (S. Granger)