Of the three great actresses in "The First Lady," who will win all the awards?

Gillian Anderson neither looks nor sounds even remotely like Eleanor Roosevelt.

None. Looks bad.

I think the show will be average at best and won't get any Emmy odds. I like Viola Davis, but she was the wrong choice for Michelle Obama. In this picture that shows comparison to the real Obamas, O.T. Fagbenle looks ok as Barack, but Viola looks awkward as fuck as Michelle.

lol at this other comparsion pic in the link below

What, no Jackie On Assistance?

If the shows gets renewed for a second season, maybe Jackie on Assistance will be featured. If the show gets a second season, they should feature Nancy Cunt Reagan and focus a little bit on how Nancy got advice from psychics and astrologers especially Jeane Dixon.

I want to see Babs floor the accelerator and flatten her unfaithful beau.

I think we should capitalize the O in Jackie On assistance.

R7 I think you mean Laura Pickles Bush.

Of course you’re right. I should never post while succumbing to my melatonin.

That 'Jackie On Assistance' shit was never funny, just yet another meme that Aspie Dlers run into the ground.

Here's a picture of teenage Laura Bush. Which young brunette actress would perfect for the role as a psycho teen Laura?

I think Michelle P. has the best chance to stand out. To surprise.

We've seen Eleanor a million times in a million shows/bios and Michelle Obama is, well, Michelle Obama. Known by everyone on the planet.

Betty Ford, for people under 50, is just a name of a famous drunk clinic. So much room for Michelle P to shine.

I agree about Michelle, although she looks too skinny.

Viola as Michelle Obama is laughable. It looks so awkward.

Betty Ford has the best story: an intelligent woman, a former dancer, who really did not want to be First Lady and refused to change herself and play the perfect subservient wife like her predecessor Pat Nixon. Her husband Gerald Ford was surprised being First Lady was hard on her, and didn't even really notice that she got so drunk she would pass out most nights (his daughter Susan had to bring it to his attention).

Betty got such extensive plastic surgery after leaving the White House that later in life she was nearly unrecognizable. She made a HUGE impact as First Lady given her outspokenness about abortion and pre-marital sex.

Betty Ford was a trailblazer in introducing breast cancer awareness into the public discourse.

Viola will guilt trip all the voters constantly and badger them into voting for her. She can talk about how she has suffered even more than Michelle Obama.

It's a Showtime show so while some may get nominations, they'll lose to someone from a HBO show.

[quote] Viola as Michelle Obama is laughable. It looks so awkward.

Michelle Obama has warm traits in her smile, facial features, and mannerisms. Viola doesn't really have those traits and I think that's why she looks very awkward and laughable. Regina King might have been a better casting. BET did a dream casting of an Obama biopic and King was their pic for Michelle, but some of their dream cast picks were pretty laughable especially one of the suggestions for Obama. They did have a good dream casting pick for Mitt Romney.

R17 lol that made me laugh. Viola Davis has an entitled fanbase who will probably whine up a storm if she doesn't get an Emmy nomination or if some critics pan her performance.

Not surprising--Viola is already on the prediction lists of the Gold Derby experts and editors. Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson are on some of the prediction lists. I have to give credit to the experts or editors who boldly have Lily James for Pam&Tommy on their lists. That wasn't an Emmy worthy mini-series, but Lily managed to portray Pam Anderson well in a way that didn't come off as awkward or weird. I doubt she'll get nomination though. But, it was a casting choice that did pay off performance wise.

Gold Derby editors and experts often go with the "pure name recognition" picks even though they know some of the performances aren't award worthy. But, sometimes their predictions never pan out. I remember for two or three years, there were some experts and editors who kept predicting Rita Moreno getting a nomination for that awful One Day At A Time reboot. She sucked in that show and never got an Emmy nomination.

Are they gonna bring up Steven Ford?

Pfeiffer’s the one getting all the praise in early reviews.

I'm going with Michelle Pfeiffer because in the previews it seems like she's the one who's really just being open and free with her role. She's letting loose and going for it. I could very well be proven wrong when this airs, though.

Gillian looks nothing like Roosevelt. Nothing. It's distracting. Not even remotely close to Roosevelt in height or anything. She looks like a pioneer wife on the prairie. Distracting I tell you.

Viola is good casting in theory because she is a self made lady who is scandal free. Love her or hate her she truly did grow up in abject poverty and got in good with the world of academics to escape it. The thing with her in the previews is that it seems like she's trying a bit too hard, but like with Michelle Pfeiffer my opinion might be proven wrong when this airs.

I feel like I'm contradicting myself a bit but I guess I feel like Michelle Pfeiffer is going to go for it with this in a way the other two actresses won't. A fair amount of people might not remember Betty Ford. She really did raise a bit of heck in the White House a wee bit.

I'll stop rambling now.

Absolutely loved Betty Ford

Michelle should win. Viola will win.

If she doesn’t Jada Pinkett will get herself banned from the Emmys for 10 years also.

Julianne looks and acts like she's playing Gillian Anderson playing Eleanor Roosevelt.

Why is Viola Davis getting seniority billing over the other two who were stars long before her?

From the Hollywood Reporter review.

[quote] But too many of the cast fall back on physical mimicry rather than emotional embodiment, perhaps because, faced with such blandly written characters, the actors don’t have much else to go on. At some point, it becomes more distracting to see how hard Davis is working to move her mouth like Obama’s than it probably would have been to simply accept that Michelle Obama looks like Viola Davis in this universe. Likewise, Fagbenle and Sutherland’s vocal impressions of Barack Obama and FDR, respectively, never stop feeling like just that — impressions.

[quote]Michelle should win. Viola will win.

Well, sometimes Viola loses. I had a laugh that night last year when she lost to me.

Michelle should have got a movie focusing just on Betty Ford.

I hope Laverne Cox plays Michelle! So cool!

I saw a clip of Michelle and she seemed really stiff and awkward. From fillers, her face has no lines so she looks like an alien. This POS is not winning any awards.

Vivian Vance as Mamie Eisenhower

Who would have been better casting for Eleanor Roosevelt? I can’t think of anyone who looks anything like her.

Cynthia Nixon (with false teeth) actually made a good Eleanor Roosevelt a few years ago in "Warm Springs."

Cynthia Nixon should always wear false teeth because her real ones are golden brown like a Wendy’s French fry

When does this air?

R37 Next Sunday.

Uh oh. Viola is already throwing shade at Gillian Anderson's portrayal of Roosevelt. She knows not to mess with Michelle Pfeiffer because Michelle will cut a bitch with one look and no words spoken.

[QUOTE] Of the three great actresses in "The First Lady," who will win all the awards?

They would dare give any to a non-POC actress?

What year are you living in? 1992?

Helen Lawson is Helen Herron Taft: Forgotten First Lady

"You won't forget this performance! Not since those high kicks at the Kennedy Center Honors has Lawson so dominated an all-star cast!" [italic]Variety[/italic]

[quote]Viola is already throwing shade at Gillian Anderson's portrayal of Roosevelt.

Viola is a smug cunt.

R42 She says (to paraphrase) it was not like she was playing someone who had been dead for 100 years and she gestured toward Gillian a bit when she said it. Knives draw. Shade thrown. This is goofy escapism for me, man.

First episode is already out on the Showtime app. First episode was ok, but not great.

Shit series trashed in reviews. Nobody is winning anything except a raspberry.

It looks like they put some kind of prosthetics on Viola to make her look more like Michelle O, but it fails.

I admit I loved the campy scenes of Ellen Burstyn as meddling Sara Roosvelet bitching out with Gillian's Eleanor. Kiefer Sutherland is awkward as FDR.

Just from the clips I’ve seen Viola is the most successful. Michelle is too pretty to play Betty and I don’t give a fuck about Eleanor or Gillian.

Gillian is the phoniest of phonies.

Does Eleanor Roosevelt eat pussy in this?

R27 Because she's the one with an oscar.

Was the academy forced to give Viola an Oscar ? For what role ?

Viola because she is black.

Social media isn't happy with Viola's portrayal of Michelle.

It would be hilarious if she gets shut out and Julia Roberts gets a nod for that Gaslit series.

[quote] I don’t give a fuck about Eleanor

then you're stupid and boorish.

If Viola Davis wins it will be based on her other work because she sucks in this show

Twitter consensus is that’s Viola and Gillian are both ridiculous so Michelle Pfeiffer wins in a walkover. Plus she gets to be drunk in character.

This will prompt the Razzies to start giving worst awards for TV as well as movies.

I want to see Laura Bush played by Amy Sedaris in the next season.

Only if they reenact the auto accident, R58.

Pfeiffer looks fantastic.

Who does me?

Caitlyn Jenner, r61.

Everyone, Melanoma.

Telling from the very short clips that were posted, I would prefer Kate Mulgrew.

[quote] Just from the clips I’ve seen Viola is the most successful.

This didn't age well.

Whoever directed Viola had it in for her, or they were too intimidated by her to tell her that looked and acted ridiculously.

Eleanor Roosevelt needs to be retired as a part. Jane Alexander did it fifty years ago.

Now there's a part for G. She can use her singing voice and spare us all her Norma.

Pfeiffer shines in this. They should have just done a series about Betty Ford, someone who’s been overlooked through the years. We know about Eleanor and doing Michelle Obama already is a tad premature.

Isn’t Viola the producer? No one was going to tell her shit.

I agree that Michelle Pfeiffer is doing the best job, at least so far. I also agree that Viola Davis was miscast in this. Maybe she'll be better in the upcoming episodes. I'm skeptical, though.

Glenn Close is OLD Eleanor at the U.N.

I quite like it. I like the Ford story best because it's least known. The Obama story is more credible than I expected.

[quote] Isn’t Viola the producer? No one was going to tell her shit.

Yup, she's a producer on the show. I agree, no one was going to tell her shit and I doubt anyone in pre-production had the balls to tell her about considering other actresses for the Michelle role.

Bai Ling IS Melania.

I wish Michelle would really get buzz, it’s sad that in her distinguished career she’s only ever won ONE golden globe and nothing else. An Emmy would help

If am not familiar with Eleanor Roosevelt (Aussie here) will Anderson’s performance be as odd/of- putting to me the way Davis’ is?

They should edit out the Gillian and Viola parts and make it solely about Pfeiffer's storyline as Betty Ford.

Gillian was just Margaret Thatcher

Bitch, no!

R77 I'm watching episode 2 now and the Betty Ford parts are the only decent parts. Gillian Anderson isn't great at Eleanor Roosevelt, but I did like the scene of ER talking to a man standing on a free meal line. Very kind and touching scene.

Since she's short, and her grooming for the role is so much tidier and severe than the real Eleanor Roosevelt (who always looked bedraggled, bless her) ever affected, Gillian Anderson actually looks far more like the pretty and well-coiffed Lou Hoover than as her frowsy successor as First Lady.

And [italic] I [/italic] narrated ER in the revered Ken Burns documentary The Roosevelts... still unspooling regularly on PBS stations across this great country. Well, in the parts of this country where people watch PBS, which by definition makes them great.

Dear Gillian, she seems to be following me like G, only with a shot at coming close.

If only the M and G jokes improved with time, rather than rotted from them...

The M and G bullshit has never been funny. Hopefully the dementia-addled OCD queen who posts that garbage will die soon.

You seem like a really nice person, R83, and I imagine you could write a book on how to use measured reason to convince.

r84 the M/G poster is an unfunny asshole.

R85, the M/G poster is loads of different people, you big dope. It's a DL thing, like it or not.

And nothing any of them post is worse than hoping someone dies over an innocuous post. Maybe have a little think, R85.

r87 it's tired, tired shit that's never been funny. One of the many tics of Aspielounge.

The M/G quotes are lame because there isn't an M vs. G feud so they seem futile and pointless. It's not like the Olivia de Havilland vs. Joan Fontaine jokes which ARE funny because there is a true backstory which those jokes work from.

I wouldn't doubt it if Glen Close has some envy towards Meryl and other actresses who have least an Oscar or two on their mantle.

[quote] They should edit out the Gillian and Viola parts and make it solely about Pfeiffer's storyline as Betty Ford

The Betty Ford parts of the show are the best so far. Gillian wasn't that bad in episode 2 imo.

Gillian and Viola are HORRIBLE. Especially Viola. They don't need to try and imitate each of the First Lady's mannerisms.

Olivia Colman would be good as Eleanor Roosevelt, although I don;t know if she can do a good American accent. She would get the warmth and the good humor and the awkwardness.

[quote] Olivia Colman would be good as Eleanor Roosevelt, although I don;t know if she can do a good American accent. She would get the warmth and the good humor and the awkwardness.

I just saw her in Murder On The Orient Express and can say I’ve had sufficient.

Don't suggest any American historical figure roles for the horse woman Colman. She needs to stay in her lane and leave American actresses alone. I'm still bitter by her mere existence.

That M/G shit is not funny and never has been.

To me Eleanor Roosevelt has been completely overdone by this point. There's been more than forty first ladies. That's not slim pickings.

Time Magazine said Viola's biggest flaw in the role is she brings no warmth to her character.

R98 I agree, for the most part on that. I did think the scene of Michelle and her mother in episode 2 was warm and sweet. Overall, she still sucks in the role.

Brooke Shields could do a mean Melania.

R90, she has a strong jaw and an unforgettable singing voice. She is... memorable.

If they make a single edit of the Betty Ford segments with Michelle, they could release it as a standalone feature film and get her Oscar buzz.

r12, she looks like Selena Gomez!

R40 They won't. They cannot give someone else an award and not Davis, too.

Viola ain't winning shit for this Michelle mess.

CCH Pounder would’ve been a great Michelle Obama.

I just don't understand how Viola can be THIS bad.

It's like I'm watching a horrible community college one act play written and performed by some Lea Michelle type.

Viola’s occasional Southern blaccent doesn’t sound like Michelle’s Chicago tones at all.

And Laura Bush wasn’t an idiot. I find it hard to believes she would deposit Michelle Obama in front of a slave painting during the White House tour.

[quote] And Laura Bush wasn’t an idiot. I find it hard to believes she would deposit Michelle Obama in front of a slave painting during the White House tour.

I thought that scene was so cringeworthy and total BS.

Third episode is basically flashback episode of the first ladies. The actress who plays younger Michelle Obama seem to have a bit more warmth than Viola's portrayal of older Michelle.

Eliza Scanlan was sort of charming as a young Eleanor.

OP, you lost me at "three great actresses."

[quote]I admit I loved the campy scenes of Ellen Burstyn as meddling Sara Roosvelet bitching out with Gillian's Eleanor. Kiefer Sutherland is awkward as FDR.

I read this as "Ellen Barkin" at first - and went "whaaaat?"

Now I want to see Ellen Barkin as Sara Roosevelt. "Cut the shit, Eleanor."

BUMP

Vivian Vance as Mamie Eisenhower.

R111, Pfeiffer is a great actress. No one in their right mind would state otherwise.

My first though of actress upon looking at this pic is Kathy Bates.

Have they shown Eleanor doing some muff diving yet?

The other problem with this show is that is not directed by an American. The body language of the guy doing Nixon’s characteristic wave when departing Marine 1 was pure SNL.

You can hear Viola Davis really working hard on the vocal cadences but it is entirely unnatural.

The whole thing is entirely unnatural.

The key thing is that Michelle was never a hysterical, angry black woman, she was unjustly characterised that way. Whereas Viola is an emotional, angry black woman.

R39, Someone once told me I had “Michelle Pfeiffer’s eyes” and now I understand- I show all my emotion with them, it’s truly my best blessing and when I’m angry- my worst curse at times!

[quote]I thought that scene was so cringeworthy and total BS.

Especially since they had so effectively choreographed the moment with the reactions by the black staff, as the Obamas arrived. It was an impressive bit of directing and then the anvil falling on the art tour.

Plus I never bought that Laura Bush would have hung such modern art anywhere in the White House.

Michelle Pfeiffer is a triumph in this thing... I don't know when I've enjoyed a performance of her's more... she's doing well playing the fun part of Betty Ford... you get why she was so liberal and forward thinking... she had a light heart oftentimes.

I loved the scene of drunk Betty dancing to Coconut by Harry Nilsson. I wonder if there are gifs online somewhere.

You mean Razzies right?

There should a TV version of the Razzies. Viola deserves all the dragging she's been getting. I think she expected this to be some kind of slam dunk role for her. But, she's shitty in the role.

If Viola is nominated for her horrible performance, the Emmys lose any credibility they were latching onto.

Emmy voters in the past have given "pure name recognition" type nominations in the past for not so great performances. It wouldn't be too surprising if they did that for Viola. But, I think there's a good chance she won't get nominated, a lot of reviews didn't praise Viola, many viewers have mocked her, and the show isn't getting a lot of attention like other limited series have been getting or received. Also, her whiny comments about the critics who call out her shit performance might have soured some Emmy voters on her.

I wouldn't be surprised if Ellen Burstyn gets shut out of supporting actress category. She's been good as Sara Delano Roosevelt. But, the show is under the radar. It's also another example of how not every limited series on cable or a streaming service becomes a huge critical hit.

Ellen Burstyn gets an Emmy nomination every time she farts - and why not, she’s great. Voters love her. Remember that time she was nominated for Mrs Harris, for 2 lines and 14 seconds (yes, SECONDS) of screen time?

Ellen Burstyn should've won the Oscar for Requiem For A Dream, that was an incredible, heartbreaking performance. Instead, Julia Roberts won. Whatever.

I'm only watching the Betty Ford parts now. The Michelle parts suck and as others have said we've already seen Eleanor Roosevelt's story 1000 times, and with better actresses.

Perhaps this whole show should've just been Michelle as Betty.

It makes more sense to used "Obama" than "Michelle" considering Pfeiffer's involvement in the series.

*use

MP is amazing. A terrific performance.

I wonder if Betty Ford knew how many gaylings blew their wads in the early 80’s fantasizing what Andy & Paul were doing together on Y&R.

I can’t wait until they do the sadistic bitch Mamie Eisenhower trying to induce a miscarriage in a very pregnant Jackie Kennedy with a marathon tour of the White House, making sure Jackie was on her feet the entire time. It was a furious Dwight’s intercession that foiled his wife’s diabolical plot.

Three?

Jackie had already given birth. She was still recovering.

Man, if Michelle Pfeiffer didn't win the Emmy with last episode's ending scene, I don't know what will. Perfection.

No more Viola. No more Gillian. All Michelle.

Viola is awful in this series. That mouth thing must piss Michelle off.

I'm not hating on Viola like a lot of people are but I get the basis for their complaints. She does seem to throw herself around physically in the walk, no matter what happens. It's like she's shouldering her way through a crowd.

I have to wonder how Viola prepared for the role. She flops at most of Michelle Obama's mannerisms.