The First Lady (2022) User Reviews

Michelle Pfeiffer is brilliant!

[adamsandel · 8/10 · 16 May 2022]

Pfeiffer gives one of the best performances of her career as Betty Ford. Anderson gives the intelligent, detailed performance you'd expect from her as Eleanor Roosevelt, and she and Kiefer Sutherland both nail the Roosevelts' vocal musicality.

Sadly, Viola Davis is simply miscast as Michelle Obama, missing her breezy charm and charisma that so many other actresses could have captured. She attempts to make up for this by constantly pursing her lips and overdoing Obama's lumbering gait. It doesn't work.

Michelle Pfeiffer Steals The Show.

[jennfinn · 8/10 · 31 May 2022]

First let me say that Viola Davis is an amazing actress and while I do agree that the constant lip pursing is annoying there's something else that bothers much more than that. Barack is three years older than Michelle, Viola is 16 YEARS OLDER THAN OT Fagbenle. Seriously ???? Not to mention that Viola is only one year younger than MO right now so should she be playing a version of Michelle from 13 years ago ?? Plus she is also five inches shorter which is noticeable. OT is nowhere near as lean as BO was and his accent is too much.

Gillian Anderson looks like she is in actual pain if she were to open her mouth. Yes, we all know Eleanor had an overbite and what some would call "horse teeth" but she actually smiled all the time so I don't get it. Her voice also sounds exactly like her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Crown. I'd be surprised if she watched any interview of Eleanor or her actually speaking because it doesn't seem like it. Keifer Sutherland is great as FDR.

Michelle Pfeiffer is BRILLIANT as Betty Ford, she doesn't get a lot of screen time but she steals it leaving you wanting more when she's done.

Great

[kerrysimpson-62755 · 8/10 · 14 June 2022]

I thoroughly enjoyed this series . Not being American I only knew bits and pieces about these women , the show has pushed me to do further research. I loved Gillian Anderson and Michelle Pfieffer in their roles but found Viola Davis ( who I am a fan of) very distracting pursing her lips like that all the time . I have endeavoured to look at footage of Michelle Obama to see how accurate this is .. and not really succeeded. Nevertheless a really good series , well worth the time.

Pfeiffer Is The Standout

[rebel5 · 21 April 2022]

Viola Davis and Gillian Anderson are doing impersonations more suited for "Saturday Night Live." Michelle Pfeiffer on the other hand humanizes First Lady Betty Ford, an often overlooked historical figure. I happen to agree with critics who've stated that this show would have fared better had the entire spotlight been on Betty Ford.

Michelle Pfeiffer is amazing

[zenbeing19 · 8/10 · 18 June 2022]

On episode 8 and must note the series gets better as it goes on. Michelle Pfeiffer exemplifies what great acting is all about. Loved her as Betty Ford. Gillian Anderson is also wonderful as Eleanor. I sually love Viola Davis but think she was miscast in this. She seems too old for the part. Barack who is actually 3 yrs older than Michelle looks 15 yrs younger in the series. Whoever did Viola's makeup in the White House Years should be fired. They heavy makeup ages her and the overdone eyes make her look like a hooker (or in modern day terms...a sex worker) In real life, Michelle Obama's makeup was always understated. Also, the character is not as warm and empathetic as the Michelle Obama we have all come to love.

Michelle Pfeiffer was mesmerizing

[phylcrane-91575 · 10/10 · 17 June 2022]

Michelle Pfeiffer absolutely blew me away. I could not take my eyes off of her. She was mesmerizing to watch her portray Betty Ford! Absolutely unbelievable. I sure hope she wins an award for this.

All of the Actresses are Excellent!

[VintageSoul56 · 9/10 · 13 May 2022]

I have watched the first two episodes. Betty Ford was the one that I knew least about. I was in my late teens, early twenties when Ford became president. I didn't pay attention to politics then. All I can say is Bravo to Mrs. Ford for her humanity, candidness about her addiction and still being true to herself in a, I imagine not so easy situation. Brava to Michelle Pfeiffer for bringing Betty Ford to life. Michelle has always been a great actress and gets better.

I don't understand the reviews about Viola Davis portraying Michelle Obama. People have mentioned "the mouth" in some of the reviews that I've read. I think that Viola is doing a fantastic job of portraying Michelle O. Michelle does do that with her mouth and Viola studied her to make sure that she was bringing a true portrayal to this series, right down to the eyes and the walk.

Well, Eleanor was iconic. She was the First Lady when our country, in the throes of The Great Depression needed someone like her to know that there was hope, compassion, intelligence, humanity and action in the White House. Gillian Anderson has done such an credible job of seeing the human side of Eleanor and her down to earth personality. She was indeed a force and Gillian is up to the task. Yes, there have been many portrays of Eleanor, but we need one more for this generation to witness how truly dedicated people can be. We need more like her in today's environment.

These historical women are to be admired for being brave in the first place to tackle such a lofty title as First Lady and their humanity. The actresses portraying them are to be applauded for bringing these incredibly interesting to life.

Let's not forget the amazing 91 year old Ellen Burstyn playing Sara Delano Roosevelt. Ellen is an acting icon!

5 stars for Pheiffer, she's fantastic. What is Viola Davis doing???

[ljmcfarland-79126 · 6/10 · 28 April 2022]

Michelle Pheiffer is fantastic! This should have been just a series about Betty Ford. Pheiffer plays this with grace, dignity and empathy.

Anderson is fine as Eleanor Roosevelt, I think the dentures were just unnecessary... just too much. We know Eleanor had an overbite but it was distracting.

Now let's talk about Viola Davis who is skit performing Michelle Obama as an SNL joke. Absolutely ridiculous with the crazy mouth acting and for those of us who like Ms. Obama, why did Viola Davis portray her this way? It's completely hysterically awful and side splittingly funny. Just horrible😂

Michelle Pfeiffer deserves the Emmy!

[bichanel · 10/10 · 18 May 2022]

Michelle has always been an underrated amazing actress, no surprise that she delivers in this role. She deserves the Emmy and all the other noteworthy awards for this role.

Viola should have sat that one out...

[Gixope05 · 7/10 · 18 May 2022]

I find myself fast-forwarding through the "middle-age Obama" segments: 2 casting errors. Viola Davis makes a terrible Michelle Obama, none of the charisma or charm. Shame as the "Roosevelt" and "Ford" segments are very good.

An uneven affair

[markanthonyparra · 4/10 · 9 May 2022]

Ditto to many of the other comments. For my part, the entire series could have been about Betty Ford and I would have been quite satisfied. Michelle Pfeiffer delivers...

Pretty Great

[charlesgarnerlester · 10/10 · 24 April 2022]

I find it really disgusting how people bring politics into a freaking TV show. Yes, Republicans, we all know that you hate Barack and Michelle - and we all know the real reason why (queue the denials) . Anyways, the show is a very interesting, and a different point of view - it shows how difficult these women had it, no matter their race. To be dragged into the spotlight and learn how to adjust to their rolls. It is very well done.

Very interesting show, but.....

[bkatz-30032 · 7/10 · 3 June 2022]

I'm enjoying the show, learning things I did not know before & love the emphasis on the First Ladies. My biggest complaint, which seems to be everyone's opinion, is the poor casting of Viola Davis as Michelle Obama. That is the complete downfall of this show, although I plan on finishing the season as I'm enjoying Michelle Pfeiffer & many of the story lines.

Michelle Pfeiffer is OMG AMAZING

[cubsfan-4 · 4/10 · 29 May 2022]

Viola. Wonderful actor! And now and then she hit a Michelle Obamaism. But good grief. Her forcing the lip gestures was so over the top it was a total distraction.

Gillian. Wonderful actor! And acting wise she was the epitome of Eleanor Roosevelt's strong woman first, and then First Lady. But c'mon. Did Viola force Gillian to make silly mouth gestures, too, so that she wouldn't be the only accomplished actor to look like a high school understudy? Gillian is perfectly capable of acting her character to life. Case in point: her Margaret Thatcher in The Crown.

Michelle. Hands down is BEST part of this show. Best storyline. Amazing performance. Compelling Betty Ford. Michelle Pfeiffer has never been so grand.

Could have been amazing!

[coryheligman · 8/10 · 18 April 2022]

The acting is top notch as expected. Who ever thought jumping around to tell the story was a good idea? Each story needed to be on their own. Jumping around makes it less important. Bad idea. Sorry.

Amazing show! Top Notch! I cant wait for more episodes

[epicking · 10/10 · 26 April 2022]

Let me be straight here. The cast is just incredible and each main character are performing so great that you are dragged into it.

You can understand and appreciate what each individual were going through and what it took for them to get through. Very well done.

Some Reviews are babbling about some actors "lips" ... I mean, come on. Get a life. I was actually laughing so hard when I read them.

If you cant see past that, you really dont deserve to watch the show :-)

Lips so thick you make me sick

[DavidsGuy · 8/10 · 13 May 2022]

Once again, Viola Davis proves how overrated she is. The lip puckering thing she endlessly does is distracting and annoying. I don't recall Michelle Obama pursing her lips that much or having so many ridiculous facial expressions. I can easily imagine Michelle Obama watching this and asking Barak, "Do I really do that with my lips all the time and make such comical facial expressions?!" (I hope she and Davis aren't friends because this would seriously test their friendship.) The actress who plays the young Michelle Obama does a much better job and keeps her lips tucked in too! Thankfully, there's such a thing as fast forwarding.

Michelle Pfeiffer's portrayal of Betty Ford is the only thing that makes this worth watching and I predict she'll win an Emmy. She deserves it. Gillian Anderson tries hard and has her moments, but still falls short as Eleanor Roosevelt. (I guess the producers figured that if she could play Margaret Thatcher, she could also play Eleanor Roosevelt. They were wrong.)

Also, in a attempt at sounding "now" and attracting a certain demographic, the writers throw in a lot of f-bombs simply because it's Showtime and they can. Or maybe they assumed that everybody uses foul language when arguing with a spouse because they do with theirs. At any rate, watch it for Michelle Pfeiffer, but don't expect much else except pursed lips, buck teeth, and second-rate impersonations.

Excellent series! Don't believe the negative reviews!

[mstaffordca · 7/10 · 25 April 2022]

Excellent series! Don't believe the negative reviews! You'll truly be missing out if you skip this! I can only believe the bad reviews come from special agenda! I promise this is a thoroughly engaging series!

Great series, wonderful acting!

[wiggy-87254 · 10/10 · 20 June 2022]

I loved this series and the acting is fabulous! Kieffer Sutherland and Michelle Pfeffer were especially great.

I looked it up to see if there will be more episodes. I am looking forward to the next season.

Potential

[annabmiller-89542 · 6/10 · 22 April 2022]

Pfeifer did an excellent job as Betty Ford. Anderson does an amazing job as Roosevelt. Davis was meh as Michelle. I think there's potential to highlight the amazing women who were in the shadows. I hope to see more season!

Acting is very distracting

[Linda829 · 4/10 · 20 April 2022]

While I had high hopes for this show, I was so distracted by Ms Davis' mouth that I couldn't concentrate on what she was saying. I feel as great an actor as she is, she was wildly miscast.

Michele Phiffer is remarkable as Betty Ford. Ms. Anderson is just ok, as I have seen other actors portray Mrs. Roosevelt better.

Not sure, if I will be able to enjoy watching this with the distraction of the "lips". I don't remember Mrs Obama talking like that. It's like a characture of her.

Killer acting, killer writing

[susiemoloney · 8/10 · 19 April 2022]

Of course you can't get better subject matter, and they chose three of the most interesting first ladies! I love the way the storytelling is laid out, going back and forth between the stories. It's fantastic to see these women as people rather than shadows of their husbands. Loved the pilot, I expect to love the series. Must see!

Wish it were just Michelle Pfeiffer playing Betty Ford

[JasonAvalon · 6/10 · 15 June 2022]

Michelle Pfeiffer shines as Betty Ford, brilliantly capturing her essence without resorting to the distracting mimicry that mars Viola Davis' portrayal of Michelle Obama. It's deeply disappointing that an actress as accomplished as Viola Davis didn't realize that a misguided attempt to duplicate someone else's facial features could only yield a cringey and painful-to-watch performance, remembered only by the totally unnecessary duck lips that she exhibits throughout the show. It's an insult to Mrs. Obama, her beauty and her legacy.

No thank you

[angelanwalker · 2/10 · 20 April 2022]

I was so excited to watch this from the previews, and especially because Viola Davis was in it, who I love. However, her performance as Michele Obama was terrible. I was amazed at how much she looked like Michele but the talking with the lips thing was too much. It looked SO forced and was SO distracting! Like all I could focus on was the shape she was making with her lips when she spoke, and it just didn't look natural. I won't be watching any more episodes of this one.

Fabulous ladies

[petri1588 · 10/10 · 21 May 2022]

Love the show. Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson are amazing as Betty Ford and Eleanor Roosevelt. I'm a teacher and enjoy learn about American history.