[1]

Now on DVD is [2] HBO’s 7 part mini-series on John Adams, our nation’s 2^nd president. Adams is often considered one of the “forgotten” founding fathers because of his being overshadowed by such historical giants as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin. But Adams role in our nation’s founding was massive, as this series shows.

I’ll offer a word of caution from the outset. While this series can be very educational, parents need to be aware of three scenes that may be inappropriate for younger audiences. Two scenes involve nudity, but thankfully neither of them are sexual in nature. Early in the series, a British tax collector is stripped, tarred, and feathered. Towards the end of the movie, there’s a scene in which Adams’ daughter has a mastectomy because of breast cancer. While neither scene would be considered vulgar, parents need to beware. The only other “risqué” scene involves John and his wife Abigail. After they had been separated for a couple of years with John in Europe, Abigail comes to Europe and they are reunited. And they are REALLY, REALLY happy to see each other…if you get my drift. Actually, it was nice to see Adams longing for his wife as opposed to many diplomats of the day who simply took mistresses. Nevertheless, HBO being what they are, felt the need to show an intimate scene involving the couple. There was no nudity, but there was a little more action shown than was needed in my opinion. Now for the movie itself.

I found the series to be very captivating and accurate to historical events. The series is based upon David McCullough’s award winning biography of Adams, which is a classic. McCullough has also written biographies of Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt; as well as an account of American Independence called 1776. All great books that I would highly recommend.

The characters bear an uncanny resemblance to the originals. Washington, Jefferson, and Adams all look exactly like their famous portraits. The historical accuracy seems to be very detailed, even down to the facet of John Adams having an almost constant dip of snuff in his mouth throughout the movie (he was a habitual dipper).

The movie seems to have accurately portrayed Adams’ strengths, while still pointing out his shortcomings. He was known as an intensely honest man who was willing to stand for what he believed to be right regardless of consequences. This can be seen in his serving as the defense lawyer for the British soldiers accused in the 1770 Boston Massacre.

In the beginning, Adams was somewhat of a reluctant patriot, not nearly as zealous as his cousin Samuel. But though he wants to give Britain the benefit of the doubt, he eventually sees that their tyranny has gone too far, and he joins the cause.

Adams had some downfalls which are depicted as well. He could be extremely obstinate and overbearing at times. He worried excessively about his standing in history, and at times was a little too proud of his intellectual prowess. His wife Abigail serves as a stabilizing force in the movie, frequently bringing him back to earth. Abigail is depicted in many ways as a heroine, which is both right and wrong. She was a very impressive person in her own right, but I have read in other sources that her ambitious and controlling nature was at times more than her husband and children could bear.

While the Adams’ clearly loved and wanted the best for their children, they were at times too obsessed with John’s career and less focused on the parent/child relationship. But in their defense, this was common practice in early America. The paradox of this form of child raising can be seen in two of their sons. Their oldest, John Quincy went on to be the sixth president of the United States. Their next oldest, Charles grew up to be an embittered alcoholic who drank himself into an early grave.

The movie depicts Adams early life, days as a lawyer, foreign diplomat, Ambassador to Britain, Vice President, President, and elder statesman. One of the most fascinating aspects of his life was his relationship with Thomas Jefferson. They grew to be very close friends while both were serving in Europe. Then began to drift apart in George Washington’s cabinet where Jefferson was Secretary of State and Adams was Vice President. When Jefferson defeated Adams for the Presidency in 1800, they severed all ties. Many years later, as old men, they began corresponding by letter, in what still remains one of the most illuminating sources of historical data known to America.

The movie ends with one of those moments so bizarre that Hollywood couldn’t even conceive it. On July 4, 1826, the 50^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, John Adams dies. His famous last words were: “Thomas Jefferson survives.” But unbeknownst to him, Jefferson had died just a few hours earlier. Both of these patriots…the last two remaining from the Revolution…died on the 50^th anniversary of July 4, 1776.

Overall, I would highly recommend this series, if one keeps in mind the warnings I gave at the outset. It’s well written and well produced. Though it’s over seven hours long, there are not really any mundane or boring sections of the film. Some of the camera angles give you the feeling of peeking into the room while history is taking place. While some may find this mildly annoying, I thought it gave an authentic touch to the scenes. The musical score by Rob Lane was well done and enhanced the overall appeal of the movie. You’ll definitely come away more educated, and entertained in the process. And after all, “entertaining education” is the best kind of education there is.