I can't believe I keep accidentally watching movies and tv shows about the same subjects and people without intentionally planning on it! But I love it so much! I watched this one because of its ties to the area we visited so many times while my sister was in school at Marist, but it turns out it's like a prequel to The King's Speech and The Crown! I was actually less interested in the romantic story, more interested in the relationship between FDR and the King!

It's almost a bit like a history lesson. While "The Kings Speech" did get nominated for Oscars and was a huge success, not the same can be said about this movie. Although it does have two of the same main "characters" in it. Played a different set of actors of course. And then you also have Bill Murray. The ever reliable and very funny man, who's playing a charismatic, while disabled President.It does check many boxes and it is pretty to look at. But it doesn't feel like something that will appeal to a huge crowd of people. The "story" is very limited and while the end/event is something that might get a little excitement out of you, the rest of the movie seems to lack that passion.

In 1939,Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Bill Murray) prepares to host the British King George (Samuel West) and his wife Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) to Hyde Park for a mini summit about the state of the world in wartime. Edward wants the US to help England and join the war, FDR has many isolationists that he must convince in America, before he can get involved in WW II. FDR invites his fifth cousin Daisy (Laura Linney) to join him in Hyde Park, and soon they are constant companions. Is there more to their relationship than meets the eye? Does Edward convince FDR that entering WWII is a worthwhile pursuit? I did not like Hyde Park on Hudson at all. This movie only seems intent on defaming FDR, as a serial philanderer, and feckless husband who has to deal not only with an overbearing wife, but also an overbearing mother as well. Roosevelt happens to be a political hero of mine for many reasons. He won WWII as Commander in Chief, got the economy out of the Great Depression, and did all this while suffering from polio, which he had to hide from the press and public. Social Security, a cornerstone of Roosevelt's New Deal, is still with us today. Like him or not, he fundamentally changed America, and he doesn't deserve that tabloid hatchet job that this movie turns out to be. Whatever they do to FDR, they treat Eleanor even worse. The movie makers treat Mrs. Roosevelt with disdain because she wanted to be inclusive of people who had been left out of the political process, and because she is a strong-minded independent woman with opinions of her own. She should be lauded for her outspokenness and inclusiveness, not condemned for it. The trailer made it seem like the movie would be a light-hearted comedic film about a meeting between the king and President, it was anything but, the characters are anything but likable and the movie on the whole left me with a bad taste in my mouth.The acting is horrendous. I like Bill Murray, in both his dramatic and comedic roles, but Roosevelt had an upstate New York patriarchal voice, and whatever Murray was trying to do with his voice, it didn't work, and proved to be more of a distraction than anything else. Olivia Williams, who plays Eleanor is a Brit, and her accent seeped through her delivery a couple of times. So there was the battle of the accents, Murray trying to put one on, Williams trying to take one off, it was troublesome. Samuel West brings some much needed levity to the proceedings, but really overemphasizes the stuttering. See The King's Speech if you want to see the definitive movie about King George. Olivia Colman plays Elizabeth as a relentless nag, and that gets old fast. Laura Linney plays Daisy as a doormat, a wet dishrag that doesn't inspire much interest.The direction yields a few interesting shots of FDR and Daisy in the countryside, among the wildflowers, but overall the pacing is slow and ponderous.Hyde Park On Hudson: The only thing you have to fear is…watching this film.For more reviews with nothing to hide, visit my blog, reviewswithatude.wordpress.com.

It's 1939 at a pivotal time of WWII. England is alone in the world confronting Hitler. They desperately need help from America, and the Royals arrive for a charm offensive. On their first stop, they visit FDR at his summer retreat in upstate NY.Bill Murray is FDR, Laura Linney is cousin Daisy, and the Royals are played by Samuel West and Olivia Colman. There is little tension in the main storyline of FDR and his affair. And there's really no mystery. If this was only about them, this would be a horribly boring movie.The most compelling part of the story is the Royal visit. They're funny but you can also feel the intense drama playing out. The desperation and the culture clash leads to some of the best moments of this movie. I wish that they had concentrated more on that instead. A presidential affair is just so much less compelling.