The Kennedys

Over the last few days I watched The Kennedys, an 8-part made for TV movie that mainly centers on Jack Kennedy's presidency.

I found it to be very lukewarm. There wasn't enough politics or social context to make it really exciting or relevant. It was more of a personal drama, which is fine, but a central story line, between JFK and Jackie Kennedy was very weak. Katie Holmes played the First Lady, and in striving to be "graceful" she came across as remote and a little dim. There was no spark there. Nor was there any spark between her and Kinnear, who played Jack Kennedy. I didn't feel them fall in love or sense any bond between them. This made their marital troubles seem just oh so blah and unimportant.

The most engaging part of The Kennedys was the relationships between the three central men, Jack, Bobby and Joe. These scenes crackled and Tom Wilkinson was wonderful as the domineering and ambitious father. And by the end, I was horrified by Bobby's assassination (Jack's just felt like so what).

Ted Kennedy was nowhere to be seen. In fact the only other one of the siblings in the film was the sister who got lobotomized. Her brief storyline was presented only in relation to her parents, not her brothers.

All in all, this was watchable but forgettable.