Reagan

• Directed by Sean McNamara
• August 30, 2024
• Based on the 2006 book The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism by Paul Kengor

The life of President Ronald Reagan from his childhood to his time in the White House.

Some people to this day have an axe to grind against Ronald Reagan. It’s pushing 40 years since he was in office and his name still creates division based on his politics. I am not one of those people. When I heard Ronnie was getting a biographical film I was kind of excited. Given some of the names associated with it I didn’t think it would be an attempt to deconstruct or take him down. I enjoyed Reagan but it is not perfect.

Dennis Quaid stars as Reagan. His performance can often be a cross between Johnny Carson’s impression of the man from the time and an earnest performance by an actor. I’m not trying to be mean by this. Reagan was a distinct character in politics. His quirks and facial expressions were just how he was but coming from anyone other than Reagan they feel silly. I appreciate Quaid’s push for authenticity but he should’ve at the minimum kept his normal speaking voice.

Mercifully Reagan doesn’t try to portray Reagan as some huge Hollywood star-which he never was. He was known and he was famous, but he wasn’t a big name. Even he acknowledged that in a humorous way. We even get a good look at his youth. Maybe it is me, but the past looks far too clean. These were not rose-colored memories but us watching what happened then. Dirty things up a bit to make the world look lived in.

This contains the usual selection of conservative actors. Kevin Sorbo, Robert Davi, and John Hoyt all have parts of this. But there are other faces that are not necessarily associated with conservative media. Elya Baskin has done a lot and appears here in a small part during a pivotal moment in Reagan’s early life.

We good look at what formed the foundation for Reagan’s views. Reagan does a good job of building and explaining the man while also trying to give him a near mythic frame. Its aim is not to take down Reagan or deconstruct him. This is a loving biography of the man. It makes clear that his passion was politics rather than acting even though that’s what he chose to try to make a living at. That’s something that was often said about him. Yet it was his experience as an actor helped him in the growing media age to become president because he knew how to perform for the camera when other politicians did not. 

CGI is common today in movies. It’s cheaper than building sets or trying to dress real places up to look authentic. When done appropriately here it works but there are some moments that are blatantly obvious CGI such as when Reagan is in the cemetery with his first wife Jane Wyman (Mena Suvari) and they are mourning the death of their newborn daughter. They are not in a cemetery or standing outside or anything. The perspectives of them in conjunction with the tombstones are a little off and the colors and the appearance of everything just looks fake.

The defining relationship in Reagan’s life was the one he had with Nancy (Penelope Ann Miller). She was his cheerleader and his protector. For good or bad she was the one that got him to that last step of the presidency with her support and her encouragement. This film takes time to go into that relationship and how it affected him. 

In a bit of a meta-moment (at least I felt it was) there is an actor on screen playing Pat Boone (Chris Massoglia) and the actual Pat Boone playing a preacher named George Otis. I’m wondering if this was some kind of joke on the part of the filmmakers or a happily humorous moment. This all occurs at Reagan’s house while he’s running for governor. It’s just kind of funny and maybe a little bit weird. 

When they get to the attempted assassination of Reagan I reassumed they would include the moment at the hospital where Reagan said to the doctor, “Please tell me you’re Republicans” with the lead surgeon responding “Today, Mr. President, we’re all Republicans.” But they skip it. They also skip the balloon pop incident where without missing a beat Reagan said, “Missed me.” This film puts effort into humanizing Reagan but misses two moments that genuinely occurred that would’ve easily humanized him. On the other hand it portrays the moment when Alzheimer’s forced him to give up horses.

There is some humor. Mostly fluffy stuff, but occasionally it gets dark such as the montage of the rapid succession of Soviet leaders while Reagan was in office. They just kept dying rapidly. Reagan never hightailed it to meet with them and by the time he got around to it, they would be dead. 

How you take Reagan will be dependent largely if not entirely upon how you felt feel about Reagan to this day. I found the movie often moving and entertaining. It skips a few things it should not but is an enjoyable watch.