Barack Obama On THE BUTLER, Oprah, Forest Whitaker And Cuba Gooding, Jr.

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He’s no A.O. Scott, but the coolest president ever has seen Lee Daniels’ The Butler (read my four star review here) and he’s giving the film high praise.

Barack Obama, in an interview on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, said the movie, which is out now and scoring big Oscar buzz, even made him tear up a bit:

You know, I did see The Butler, and I did tear up.  I teared up just thinking about not just the butlers who have worked here in the White House, but an entire generation of people who were talented and skilled, but because of Jim Crow, because of discrimination, there was only so far they could go.  And yet, with dignity and tenacity, they got up and worked every single day, and put up with a whole lot of mess because they hoped for something better for their kids.

Obama, who will be speaking at the Lincoln Memorial today to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, also went on to praise the players in Lee Daniels’ civil rights saga:

Well, my favorite part was probably some of the jokes Cuba Gooding told… We can’t repeat — but we can’t repeat them on the air… But all of the acting was terrific, and I thought Forrest Whitaker was wonderful. And Oprah, my girl, she can act.

The film ends with Cecil Gaines meeting the first black president at the White House. After all, Barack Obama’s election is one of the most historic moments in America’s racial history. And Obama acknowledged this, too:

…And I will tell you that the butlers who are now here in the White House, when we first arrived, when Michelle and the girls just — first arrived, they could not have been kinder to us and warmer to us.  And part of it, I suspect, is they look at Malia and Sasha and they say, well, this looks like my grandbaby, or this looks like my daughter.  And I think for them to have a sense that we’ve come that far was a powerful moment for them, and certainly a powerful moment for us.  We love them to death.  They look after us just wonderfully.

Obama’s endorsement is another feather in the cap of Lee Daniels’ The Butler. The movie is in the right place at the right time. And it could make history come Oscar time. I certainly hope it does.