MovieChat Forums > The Kennedys (2011) Discussion > Bad reviews; er...why?

Bad reviews; er...why?

posted 14 years ago by Mercader79
6 replies | jump to latest

This has been largely critically panned in the UK where the first two episodes have just been shown (I've thus only seen these).
Any ideas why? It's not The West Wing but it's okay.
Greg Kinnear is well cast as JFK. Tom Wilkinson is good as Joe too.
The Kennedys get off lightly if anything:
Bobby is portrayed so far as a loyal dutiful husband (???)
Joseph is a brutal ambitious man unfairly maligned as a Nazi sympathiser - all true except he was a Nazi sympathiser!
Teddy's not been in at all yet.
JFK seems to be being hit upon by a predatory blond girl. That's true except a) he should be hitting on her and b) it shouldn't be one girl it should be ten thousand.
But this is entertaining enough and not generally inaccurate from what I know.
So why the bad reviews?

[–] iregaa 14 years ago

You hit it on the head there. Its not the west wing. They had eight hours to devote to his presidency which could have been done but in the end it was a bit of a mess.
If you look at it we learned a bit about the cuban missile crisis, a bit about the civil rights crisis and that was pretty much it.

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Baby

[–] Mercader79 14 years ago

None of those criticisms were that bad though - nor were mine. It hardly warrants the critical mauling it received.

[–] oakcourt 14 years ago

I have to agree, been watching it as I'm interested in Kennedy and we are getting some fab drama back here at last on TV (well I use the iPlayer on catch up). I only know Barry Pepper and Tom Wilkinson or at least their work and both seem ok to me in this. I like it as it's relatively recent history really - the 60's that is. Maybe those who are criticising would like to see the reality TV *beep* type things back that we have all suffered since the beginning of the decade and have thus turned off in droves. Me I go with the drama :).

[–] youngian67 14 years ago

I agree with Mercader79, although I’m only on the third episode it certainly isn’t trashy soap. It took me some time for Kinnear to convince as Kennedy but he did fine job as is Tom Wilkinson, despite sounding spookily like Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal.

But again small criticism and this doesn’t justify a mauling that some British critics gave it anymore than US TV networks considering this drama too controversial.

[–] oakcourt 14 years ago

Ha that made me smile 'like Anthony Hopkins's Hannibal'I suppose he does a bit. Nice to see the Brits in this though :))

[–] d_henderson1810 11 years ago

The U.K. bag anything American because they have never got over the U.S. beating them in the War of Independence.