Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Short Review: The Kennedys (2011)

I'll be honest, the main reason I watched this show was to see what all the hype was about. Reelz Channel advertised it 24/7 and The History Channel made a huge controversy over it. I didn't expect to get very much out of it at first, but, frankly, I'm quite glad I gave it a chance.

I knew next to nothing about the Kennedys before watching this series. All I knew was that John Kennedy was assassinated and that he had an infamous affair with Marilyn Monroe. If you're the same way, I would watch The Kennedys for a mini-history-lesson.

The one thing that attracted me the most was the acting. I've seen some of Greg Kinnear's work before and enjoyed his performances, but I was quite unfamiliar with Katie Holmes, and I personally think she was great as Jackie Kennedy, and also Diana Hardcastle as Rose Kennedy. Even Charlotte Sullivan as Marilyn Monroe had several bright scenes in her performance.

I mentioned above that I knew JFK was one romantically involved with Monroe, but I was frankly surprised that it was made to look as if her death was a suicide after Bobby Kennedy ended their affair. I also didn't know the Kennedys had any contact with Frank Sinatra- but I wasn't impressed by Chris Diamantopoulos, the actor chosen to portray him.

Overall, The Kennedys is a solid portrayal of the notorious political family. I recommend it to anyone who's considered viewing it.

4/5 stars

3 comments:

  1. Ah I'm so happy you think it's good, I intend to watch the show soon. I too don't know much about JFK but it's such an interesting figure, so I've been trying to learn more about him. Also, Greg Kinnear is such a terrific actor and from what I've seen and heard, he didn't overdo the performance at all right?

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  2. @MSofiaTeixeira I don't think Kinnear overdid it at all. He gave a pretty solid perofrmance

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  3. Katie Holmes as Jackie?!! That is serious mis-casting!! I've read alot of the Kennedys over the years and Holmes just isn't Jackie in anyway. I hope this seires makes it to NZ as I'm interested to see how it stacks up historically.

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