User reviews

A film like this is viewed through the lense of our experience. In the 60s I was politically active, adored Bobby Kennedy and despised LBJ. So naturally I think the film was too kind to LBJ and too unkind to Bobby. But let's put that aside and look at the film itself.

The acting by Woody Harrelson and Jennifer Jason Leigh is excellent. You think you're watching the real thing. They are the only two actors who do such great job, and the others do OK.

There is a real sense that this is a docudrama rather than a film.

My main criticism is that the film makers stopped in mid film. The story of LBJ didn't end with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It continued through the devastation of the Vietnam War. The true story is how Johnson squandered the legacy of JFK with his foreign policy, and all that is left out.

Few things are as comfortable as a Rob Reiner film. The director who is still commonly referred to lovingly as Meathead by fans of the iconic All in the Family television series has been directing films since the early 80's and his films are consistently entertaining inoffensive fair marketed to mass audiences. The Princess Bride, A Few Good Men, The American President and The Bucket List are just a sampling of the director's filmography that audiences will be familiar.

Those that watch Rob Reiner on the talk show circuit would know that the outside of being an actor and director, he is very political activist who uses his celebrity status to bring attention to equal rights and to social issues such as violence and tobacco use.

So it is a bit of surprise that Rob Reiner has never made a film that might leverage his strong activist lifestyle. Until now, that is.

LBJ is Rob Reiner's film about the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, who was thrust from the Vice-President's chair to the Oval Office desk after the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy on that fateful November day in 1963.

Woody Harrelson plays LBJ and the film takes us backwards and forwards in time from LBJ's unsuccessful run for the Democratic Party nomination through JFK's assassination and ultimately through the President's fight for an Equal Rights Bill.

The heart of the film comes from LBJ's battle within his own party. Robert Kennedy (Michael Stahl-David) is hardly a fan of the foul-mouthed Texan who was hand-picked by brother John for the Vice-President position. The two will battle wills and disagree on almost all political talking points throughout their tenures. Also providing resistance to LBJ's forward thinking is Senator Richard Russell (Richard Jenkins) from the state of Georgia. Russell is portrayed as a racist that does not believe that individuals of color deserve the same rights and freedoms as all other Americans. LBJ does his best to try and win the trust of Russell and LBJ walks the thin line of keeping Russell in the fold before he abandons his friendship with the Senator in his attempt to fulfill the inroads JFK had made in his equal rights efforts prior to his assassination.

Harrelson is barely recognizable as the title character. The make-up is thick to ensure he resembles the former President. At times, the make-up is brilliant. The big ears and receding hairline of LBJ is captured expertly. But at other times – particularly in close-ups – the make-up looks like Harrelson was an extra in Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy film.

LBJ is obviously the focus, but there is ample time given to JFK. And the assassination in Texas is captured with valuable attention to detail. The assassination is a key point in the life of LBJ and Rob Reiner takes the time to film it correctly (it was filmed in Texas exactly where the shooting took place). Jeffrey Donovan (televisions Burn Notice) plays Kennedy and brings subtle touch to the role not attempting to overdo the Boston drawl.

As with all other Reiner films, LBJ plays it safe. Audiences may learn a few things about the complicated man along the way. His foul mouth, how he would have meetings while sitting on the toilet, and his insecurity always believing that he was not loved by either his inner circle or his country (he did win re-election by the widest margin in American history). To my embarrassment, I didn't know that LBJ was in a procession car with JFK the day he was killed. But LBJ is no Lincoln. Where the Spielberg film was brilliantly written and a character study of both a political family and the process to which they battled, LBJ skims the surface like a rock skipping along calmer waters. Gritty, LBJ is not.

But safe entertainment can still be good entertainment and Reiner is surely a master at that craft. There is plenty of humor in the film to keep the characters interesting and keeping the story non-linear works to valued effect. LBJ will not be considered Rob Reiner's best work, but it is exactly what you can come to expect from the director. And slipping into a comfortable shoe can be so so comfortable.

I was 10 when LBJ became president. I associated him more with possibly putting me in Vietnam than anything else. It wasn't a good impression. This movie and Harrelson's excellent portrayal fleshes out the man as someone who had mastered the art of political give and take, who was as powerful a senator as you could become, and yet someone who needed people's approval and even love. If you expect to see LBJ the great manipulator and master politician, you'll only get a little of that. More, you'll get exposed to LBJ's complex relationships with his wife Lady Bird, John and Bobby Kennedy, Kennedy's presidential staff, and one or two congressmen such as Senator Russell of Georgia. Set against a huge backdrop, this is still an intimate movie of LBJ the man. My wife and I both enjoyed it.

Woody Harrelson completely disappears into the role of LBJ.

Great acting. A good inside look at LBJ and the aftermath of JFK's assassination, especially for those not alive when it happened.

Worth a rental.

The movie starts with LBJ (Woody Harrelson) and wife Lady Bird (Jennifer Jason Leigh) waiting for the arrival of President Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan) at the Dallas airport in 1963 with rival liberal Texas Senator Yarborough (Bill Pullman). In flashbacks, he promises Bobby Kennedy (Michael Stahl-David) not to run for President. He is asked to join the ticket by JFK over Bobby's object. As VP, he cajoles leading southern Democrat Senator Richard Russell (Richard Jenkins). The second half follows the JFK assassination.

There is superb acting from Harrelson in a character study of the President from director Rob Reiner. There are some glaring physical drawbacks. First thing I noticed is that Harrelson is not quite the towering presence that the President was in real life. There is a real need to have that hulking sense on the screen. It's partly his physical presence that contributes to his power. In the same vein, Jeffrey Donovan doesn't have the pretty boy face of JFK especially if the movie keep harping on that fact. It wouldn't matter if those two Presidents aren't so defined by those characteristics. What gives the movie its power comes from LBJ calling, cajoling, and negotiating with the political world. It is more problematic to try to climax with his speech which is not his biggest strength. The climax should be the passing of the civil rights bill. Instead, it is covered in the closing text. Overall, Harrelson does an admirable job despite his physical dissimilarities. Outstanding support comes from Richard Jenkins. It's a solid biopic.

Greetings again from the darkness. More than 50 years after his death, President John Kennedy casts an ever-present shadow over Lyndon Baines Johnson's career as a stellar politician and a President with significant accomplishments. Part of the reason is presentation – JFK was a story book leader straight from the fashion magazines, while LBJ was a vulgar-at-times comic book adversary who looked and talked funny. Each has been portrayed on film numerous times and from various perspectives.

Woody Harrelson and his facial prosthetics play LBJ, and Mr. Harrelson seems to be enjoying the swagger and emotional range of the titular man. What this film does that's a bit different from others is embrace the comedic elements – enhanced by both the performance and the script from Joey Hartstone. It seems odd (a somewhat awkward) to have so many laughs in a movie where the infamous 1963 Presidential motorcade, and subsequent assassination, form the backdrop.

Director Rob Reiner presents LBJ in all his crude and gruff glory, but also shows the ultimate politician – a man who was constantly negotiating. Intimidation was always part of the LBJ motif, and the film effectively displays the tactics used by John and Bobby Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan, Michael Stahl-David) to take the wind out of LBJ's sails after the election.

There are reenactments throughout the film that place us back in the middle of iconic images seared into our memories … the motorcade after the shots, the scene at Parkland, and the swearing in aboard Air Force One with Jackie still wearing her blood-stained Chanel suit. This was an incredible time in our history, as the nation was emotionally shattered. It's for this reason that much of the film seems disjointed or misguided. Too much (or maybe not enough) attention is on LBJ's strained relationship with Georgia Senator Richard Russell (Richard Jenkins), one of the most racist men we've seen on screen. Their discussion of race relations while being served dinner by the black woman is beyond uncomfortable – yet still somehow too stagey.

Most of the film is spent on LBJ's time as Senator and Vice President, with only the final act being about his famous networking upon ascending to the Presidency … after which the entire focus is on the Civil Rights Act. The flow of the film seems a bit off, though most will enjoy watching Harrelson's performance – especially when paired with Jennifer Jason Leigh's Lady Bird. Together, the two almost rescue the script.

After having its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2016, Rob Reiner's LBJ has finally bowed out in theatres over one year later. Woody Harrelson does a pretty good job as the title character and uses his natural Texan features well. The rest of the supporting cast doesn't shine as brightly, and a rehashed story about the Civil Rights Movement makes this film average at best.

The film follows the years 1959-1963, a time when Johnson was at the height of his power. We follow his path from Senate majority leader, vice president, and ultimately, president. Along on the ride is his ever supporting wife, Lady Bird Johnson (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Lyndon also has to deal with the civil rights policies of JFK (Jeffrey Donovan) and how he is going to carry that legacy after the infamous assassination in Dallas.

The film only carries a 98-minute runtime and flows at a speedy pace. The only event we really spend that much time on is the civil rights debate. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the final act of the film and we never see anything else about Johnson's presidency. It doesn't feel right that a film titled LBJ only concentrates on less than half his term. The film also feels like it was made in the 90's because of the overly patriotic tone and score. I feel that releasing this film as a television movie would have been a better film because of the small size and focused storyline.

LBJ is also a slightly comedic film mostly because of the overly vulgar and blunt antics by Johnson himself. People that have lived through his administration will probably get most of the jokes and find the comedy in serious situations. The best moment comes in the beginning of the film when Johnson is heckling his workers and calling his tailor to resize his pants because of his "well endowment" and need for his "nuts to breathe".

The biggest disappointment of the film is the makeup. While it's usually not a huge component, in this instance it really throws off the look of the actors. Woody Harrelson in full makeup doesn't look that much like the real Johnson. A side by side comparison of the two will really puts the poor makeup in perspective. Jennifer Jason Leigh's transformation into Lady Bird Johnson ends up being even worse than Harrelson's. You can obviously see the makeup on her face and it doesn't look natural. It looks like she has a Halloween mask on her face.

The acting is either hit or miss, with some performances ranging from pretty good to downright bad. Woody Harrelson does a decent job as Johnson. He has the same gravitas and powerful demeanor Johnson had in real life. However, Harrelson doesn't have a convincing southern accent even though he spends about half his time talking about the south. His performance also pales in comparison to Bryan Cranston's role in the 2016 television film All the Way.

Jeffrey Donovan does a great job as John F. Kennedy. He perfectly imitates Kennedy's famous voice and shares many physical similarities with him. He plays Kennedy as a calm and collected politician that never cracked under pressure, especially when it came to civil rights. Michael Stahl-David does an equally great job as the Robert Kennedy. RFK is the opposite of his president brother since he is headstrong and not afraid to voice his unwanted opinion. He constantly butts heads with Johnson and they continue their rivalry throughout the whole film.

Jennifer Jason Leigh does a poor job trying to portray the famous first lady. She never delivers more than a couple of lines of dialogue at a time and doesn't have a convincing southern accent. Lastly, Bill Pullman delivers a weird and unneeded performance as Senator Ralph Yarborough. He only shows up for three scenes that total about less than ten minutes of screen time. He feels shoved in and I question why he's even in the film.

LBJ is a film that thought it was something special when it actually never lifts off the ground. Harrelson and Donovan are the only shining lights lackluster biopic that doesn't deliver on its promises. I recommend that viewers watch the superior All the Way if they want to learn about Johnson's involvement with the Civil Rights Movement.

I was truly mesmerized watching this. They expertly compacted the LBJ presidency and LBJ as an iconic American into a film length piece. Not enough superlatives to describe Woody Harrelson as LBJ, definitely my favorite portrayal. Some of the other casting wasn't as great. Bill Pullman as Yarborough was squirmish and uncomfortable. Jackie Kennedy was completely forgettable. Bryan Batt and Rich Sommer had such short spots, and would have liked to have seen more of them.

The overall theme of the film was LBJ as the workhorse vs. Kennedy as the visionary. LBJ realizing his purpose was to enact Kennedy's social agenda, which he massaged expertly during his short administration. LBJs ability to persuade and massage support for legislation is genius, and Woody Harrelson nailed the portrayal.

If you have watched other LBJ films or documentaries, or read the biography by Doris Kearn Goodwin, add this to the top of your list. Very thought proving film.

This film tells the story of a long serving politician who is made the vice president. He becomes the president due to unfortunate circumstances.

I think Woody Harrelson is great in this film as LBJ. The story is adequately engaging, and the ending speech is very captivating.

The first thing you will notice about Woody Harrelson's portrayal of the 36th president are his comically large ears. While President Johnson did have large ears, they were not the distracting dumbo- esque prosthetics shown in the film. This perfectly encapsulates LBJ as a film, focusing on a few surface features and events without ever diving into who Lyndon Baines Johnson really was.

It is certainly odd for a biopic of a president to end a few weeks into his presidency and leaving his greatest accomplishments to be told on the ending title cards. The focus instead was on his vice presidency under Kennedy where he actively undermined the Civil Rights Act that would later be the crowning accomplishment of his presidency.

It is clear that its release was pushed back to distance itself from "All the Way" the other LBJ biopic made by HBO last year. While Woody Harrelson gives a good performance through his prosthetics, it lacks the depth of Bryan Cranston's performance, though the fault is mostly on the script for failing to give him the opportunity. Jennifer Jason Leigh is solid as Lady Bird and Richard Jenkins is good as Senator Dick Russell of Georgia. However Michael Stahl-David was underwhelming as Bobby Kennedy, making him a petty and spiteful character.

All in all, LBJ is an acceptable biopic that doesn't try to do too much, but would be much better if it was farther removed from the superior "All the Way."

Lyndon Johnson gets a very sympathetic (while RFK does not) look from the most unlikely of defenders in liberal film maker Bob Reiner's LBJ. The grossly misleading title about this larger than life character however covers little of his career, deciding instead to zero in on the period around JFKs assassination, Johnson's ascendancy to the Presidency and passage of The Civil Rights Bill. It offers an interesting look at power play at the highest levels as Johnson intimidated to begin with by all the Harvard intelligentsia in the cabinet attempts to establish himself.

Woody Harrellson's LBJ passably captures the crassness and incertitude but fails to deliver the man in full that as Senate Majority leader bullied and cajoled members into line. There are flashes of the famed abrasiveness but they are far out weighed with a pouting, insecure LBJ huddling with Lady Bird. Anyone familiar with this man's public career know the material Reiner had in his arsenal to make an outstanding character study. Instead he only gives us a chapter of an incredibly controversial career when we are expecting a book. LBJ shortchanges.

Always enjoy movies of history and political ones and this latest "LBJ" is one good look at the past president from west Texas. It shows that Lyndon Johnson was a man of faith and courage despite what the no doubters and others thought of him. Johnson(Woody Harrelson) is shown as a senator who's taken a back seat to many as he's a southern democrat, yet things change when president Kennedy asks him to be his running mate and vice presidential candidate in 1960 and upon election, Lyndon still gets a cold shoulder from Kennedy brother Bobby and other northern democrats.

Yet all of that changes as Johnson is thrown into the spotlight and becomes president after president Kennedy is hit and killed with an assassin's bullet in Dallas in 1963. Oh Lyndon has come along way from west Texas to the white house. Along the way doubt and indifference is found even from his own party, yet Johnson thru hard work determination and political back room workings gets the landmark Civil Rights Act passed in 1964.

Overall good film that's a historical and political look at a great figure a president that was for the people and their rights and a society changer even when it wasn't popular or it didn't seem the norm. "LBJ" is one picture to watch for historical and political social reasons.

Very watchable. No real surprises. I'm not sure how accurate the portrayal is but Woody Harrelson is very good and holds the viewer throughout the entire movie. I don't think it will ever be the most revered politic drama ever but not a bad way to kill a couple of hours.

This was a good movie about a despicable president. His legacy is the 58,220 soldiers killed in Vietnam. The civil rights act of 1964 was passed by the majority of Republicans voting for it.

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from our public library. A gripping movie from beginning to end, kudos for letting us see a bit more inside the iconic LBJ.

I was a freshman in college in 1963 when the key events occurred, President Kennedy was killed in Dallas then the Vice President, LBJ, was sworn is as the new POTUS. As a young man I didn't pay too much attention to who this LBJ was but over the years I have heard that he was a relentless deal-maker and used a very forceful style to get things done.

Woody Harrelson with appropriate makeup and prosthetics is in the role of LBJ, Lyndon B. Johnson, and he carries it very well. Harrelson has a very distinctive voice and early on all I saw was Woody, but as the movie moved along I started to actually see LBJ. This will not be a problem for the younger audience who never had any appreciable exposure to the real LBJ.

All in all a totally enjoyable movie of an interesting and seminal time in the history of the USA, his first great achievement was pushing through one of Kennedy's prime focuses and having the Civil Rights Bill passed.

LBJ was reviled in his day for his involvement in Vietnam and presiding over America in crisis. Yet his legacy is continually reassessed today. The main aim of this movie is to highlight his role in passing Civil Rights legislation. It tells how an unreconstructed southerner won the cause that JFK was insistent on passing.

It is a very light touch political movie that glosses over LBJ's failings - he was a cudgel where JFK was a rapier. LBJ was an immensely crude Texan who came from a tradition of Jim Crow laws. Yet this gauche and boorish man had a streak of decency that pushed him on. The movie only hints at this and really looks to look again at what he achieved.

Woody Harrelson plays LBJ as more sensitive than was thought at the time. He is at the centre always and maintains your interest throughout.

This movie assumes a knowledge ( and interest ) in 1960s US politics especially the civil rights movement . Without it the casual viewer would struggle to get the most out of this movie.

Finally I would like to reflect that it is refreshing to see a movie that reminds you that Democrats and Republicans used to talk to each other.

I remember Lyndon B. Johnson quite well from the 60s, the man who made possible a social revolution that the Alt right is doing its best to demolish, but who also enlarged the war in Vietnam and left us with a quagmire that haunts us to this day. Although there's a good film out there with Randy Quaid as LBJ Woody Harrelson will be as definitive a Johnson as Raymond Massey was a Lincoln. Harrelson really does come across like LBJ, both the public image and from some of the saltier memoirs of the times. He had both a temper and a command of the fouler parts of the English language. Harrelson is also well matched with Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lady Bird Johnson.

A whole life story might one day be filmed either for the big or small screen. The various portions of Johnson's life might make a great miniseries. What we are concerned here with is the years 1960 to 1964 when he is chosen by John F. Kennedy as his Vice Presidential running mate. It was a demotion according to Johnson and two history. No one as majority leader ever had a better grasp of the Senate than Johnson, he was the second most powerful man in government after President Eisenhower.

These also were the years that the Civil Rights Revolution kicked into high gear. The white south and those who represented it, all Democrats then, a carryover from the Civil War. were determined to preserve their 'way of life'. The south had a lot of hopes and dreams invested in a southern president, but the country was ready for something wholly different. As Senate Majority Leader Johnson saw the passage of two Civil Rights laws, watered down though in 1957 and 1960.

John and Robert Kennedy are played by Jeffrey Donovan and Michael Stahl-David. The contrast in the character of the two brothers is shown here. JFK the more coolly detached and Bobby the more passionate. It made it possible for Jack Kennedy to work with Lyndon. It also made it possible for Bobby to have an unrelenting hatred for LBJ. Their personal feud shaped a lot of the history of the latter part of the last century.

When Johnson was in the House Of Representatives his mentor was Sam Rayburn fellow Texan and Speaker of the House. In the Senate it was Richard B. Russell of Georgia, courtly southerner of the upper class plantation south and chair of the Armed Services Committee. Played here by Richard Jenkins, Russell show Johnson all the levers of power and when to use them. Also where all the bodies are buried in Washington, DC. It was with Russell's support with the southern bloc that Johnson became the Senate Majority Whip in third year in the Senate, minority leader in his fifth year and Majority Leader in the seventh year. There relationship has induced much speculation to this day.

LBJ is a slice of 60s history and love him for his social revolutionary war on poverty and hate him for the sinking quagmire of Vietnam, LBJ left his mark on the country. And Woody Harrelson has left his mark on LBJ.

When I saw the cast for this and then saw the average rating of 6.0 I thought, there must be something terribly wrong with this movie. There isn't! The cast is good through and through and Woody Harrelson which I feel is still underrated is tremendous as LBJ. It takes a little time to get the focus of the movie but it becomes clear after about a third of the film and it all builds too a very strong ending. If you like this kind of movies, you will definitely enjoy LBJ.

When you make a movie about historic events it is always hard. People will criticize it is not accurate enough or that you portrayed the person to positive or to negative depending on who it is. To sum it up, there is a lot of expectation of what a movie like LBJ should be. And people are always disappointed if they don't get what they expect. In this case I can see that people are maybe disappointed that the movie ends where LBJ's presidency begins. There is much more to tell but that was not the intend of this film so I can criticize that. From a technical standpoint, cast, direction, music, script and so on this a really good movie.

If you want to see a similar take on LBJ but with a focus more on LBJ's presidency I recommend to watch "All the way" from 2016 with Bryan Cranston as LBJ.

BJ: Directed by Rob Reiner and written by Joey Hartstone

This biopic comes not long after Jay Roach made his version of the LBJ with Bryan Cranston entitled All The Way. That was a much better film. It focused on one aspect of his life and his presidency rather than offering just fragments of who the man might be. This was a distracting meander through the Wikipedia page of LBJ from before he ran with Kennedy as vice president to just after he became president and addressed congress.

This is also one of those movies where they use make up in an attempt to make the actor look like the real person. It doesn't work. Instead they look like wax figures come to life delivering dialogue and trying to emote through their plasticine mask. The performances are fine if you're able to ignore this insane red dot of distraction staring you right in the face. Woody Harrelson is just too much himself in this film. The way he talks is so distinctive that it is almost impossible for him to disappear inside of a character. Normally I'm okay with this but that horrendous make up job is attempting to mask his normal persona which his voice betrays.

This is also a rather schmaltzy dull movie. The score swells in the areas they wish you to respond at. It didn't work for me. It usually doesn't and much like the make up, this was glaring in its shameless attempt at pandering to base emotions. This could have been really good especially if it dug deep into who LBJ was as a person outside of his public persona. It tried to do that a little bit but it isn't enough.

One of my favorite movies is Nixon from Oliver Stone. That movie is so visually interesting and it moves like a bullet while still retaining the humanity of someone society views as detestable. Anthony Hopkins sounds like Nixon somewhat but he focuses more on becoming who Richard Nixon was behind the scenes. This movie needed to take pointers from this film. I know it is too late for this lesson. I'm merely shouting to the ether any cosmic filmmaking god who might be listening for future presidential biopics.

Skip this one and check out Bryan Cranston in All The Way instead. I give this movie a D.

Really great film with stellar direction and acting.

The nice thing is that it manages to balance being entertaining and funny with the more dramatic and serious moments. It sort of evolves from one movie to another as the story goes on.

Great performance from Harrelson, but the entire supporting cast were all incredible.

Whether you know the story of LBJ or not, this isn't just a dry history lesson. I learned a lot and was thoroughly entertained!