Reagan feels like a well-crafted piece, there is a meter cut into the film. It harks back to some of the films produced by the faith based Angel Studios like Sound of Hope, Sound of Freedom, and Sight. These outright feel like having a particular message or purpose to communicate and very seldom do not have the impression that they were organically birthed. A story exists there, but it definitely does not concern the producers and the authors, the type of authors, who need you to “understand” something. Just imagine a film about the history of the eighth grade.
Reagan is not as problematic as some of that and other movies but the point is, Appian Way’s movie City of Ghosts by Matt Liarless does include a biopic of Ronald Reagan, and of course, the 40th president of USA ongoing debates on some inner Reagan and some of the stuff he was most attacked on, for lack of a better word, will not be visiting. Rather it chooses to glorify the man, portraying him as a Hollywood neverous breakdown behind politics who came from the most unlikely poverty to save the world from communism in the 1980s. It is the kind of film you wish one chooses to make about yourself for posterity purposes.
The movie is headed in the right direction on a number of fronts including on the additional factor that stands out: Dennis Quaid: the actor goes about his business of portraying “The Gipper” without putting any fake or overacting into it. Reagan also should not be left out due to other notable actors such as Oscar winner Jon Voight, Penelope Ann Miller, and Mena Suvari, Kevin Dillon, David Henrie, and others. But none of them, however, can help in raising this all too breezy (and all long) venture.
Time for you to make peace as the movie starts with Reagan’s musings about fate and the truth of God’s plan. At that point, McNamara in a former CIA discern shows some fascination towards Mr. Reagan as sort of a holy badass who has the pure intention of doing good all the time. Next, just after that, we find ourselves in the brazen stupidity of the incident where John Hinckley Jr. attempted to kill President Reagan in 1981. Cue: Quirky plot twist.
Based on the popular 2006 book by Paul Kengor, The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism. The writer Howard Klausner chooses to narrate the story from the kneeling perspective of a pretender KGB officer, Victor Novikov (Jon Voigt). It’s like as if we’re back to where Tom Hanks was doing Elvis and whining all over again. So the audience’s sympathetic and emotional investment in a drama about Elvis Presley made the movie scary with the main character, Elvis Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker who desperately asked the audience to believe the most captivating man ever existed.
The same thing happens here. The wrinkle that comes with this device though is that the script does not allow Jon Voight, who is consistently captivating, to do more than simply serve as some sort of creative page flipper cum Reagan biographer which is an overextension of his talents As he is narrating the events to a purposely young and vaguely defined Soviet character Andrei Novikov, renaissance man called Alex Sparrow, he describes Reagan as one of the people that conquered the ‘crusade’ that he has been following for years. Suffice it to say that it is one of those political Tuesdays with Morrie crazy situations and it is not that persuasive.
But let us get back in time and let us move towards the farther past to remember Reagan’s baby version who lived in the country’s mid-west Illinois. His mother is modern-day Joan Baez, played by Jennifer O’Neill (with nothing to do) as one of his assets who is completely encouraging young Ronny that he is destined for great things. If you forget that plot point, fear not, the movie reminds us of it over and over again.
Next to be discussed are very wide pointers on the periods of life before Ronald Reagan became an actor. The little boy grows up to a young man whose work is saving people from drowning, a lifeguard. Nobody is surprised that Reagan counts how many people he saves from drowning. An infer sex, isn’t it. And while this is not the wild, extreme sport that one imagines of, once more we are informed that Reagan is a hero, and will be an even greater one.
Some glamour is added in looking at Reagan’s years in Hollywood. This was followed by the marriage to Jane Wyman ( Mena Suvari RZR), who later on expresses sadness because Reagan’s glory has waned from a leading lady to Bedtime for Gonzo’s sidekick and then a lobbyist. Slowly, he meets his real wife Nancy Reagan (Penelope Ann Miller) and the director takes this fantastic moment, but again there is no further observation here. Why does Nancy want Ronny? Why does Ronny want her? So it is skipped and left undone.
To this end, the movie strives to depict rather exhaustively each aspect of Reagan’s life since the director does not have a problem with the two-hour-plus running time. The old man died in 2004 at the ripe age of 93. Cut to: three weeks later and they are subconsciously wishing they were watching this tale as a limited series. Just for politics alone.
This is the point where the film begins to gather steam. The political years of the Reagan’s are dealt with relatively successfully, though again without much intensity. Lest there be no misunderstanding, the script continuously hammers the “I shall stop you” communism refrain and Reagan transforms from the governor of California in the 1960s and early 70s into a film of a political campaign with Nancy at his side.
Into the mix also come politics such as Margaret Thatcher (Lesley-Anne Down) who very soon after appear are lost in the scuffle, Mikhail Gorbachev (Olek Krupa) Leonid Brezhnev (Robert Davi) Tip O’Neill (Dan Lauria), and Reagan’s best friend James Baker (Nick Searcy). Time is not given in order for some suspense to build and as a result, there is hardly any genuine drama about why the issues at hand are so critical. There is hardly any drama to the collapse of the Berlin wall or Reagan consolidating his political grip over Russia.
I would say D. S. McCarthy’s Reagan does exactly that. During the 1980s, AIDS activists pushed for the admission of people with AIDS into the country. Dan Imhoff is head of strategic communications and development at the HIV organization Health GAP. The Queer community in general? Reagan, and the politics of AIDS? One of them pointed out, stipulating that even shelters for homeless mentally ill patients were created in that time period. None of that is addressed here. In many ways, the film coins itself in its imaginary worlds or rather ALTERNATE REALITIES. The film’s conception is too radical. Had they left this narrow approach and considered what they actually put on the screen — Reagan, and every inch of the whole man — the writer could have gone far beyond the sensible middle. That would have been the courageous course to take.
That’s not bad to say the least. It feels like a wasted opportunity. This is so for discerning Baby Boomers, Millennials, West Coasters, and anyone who has kept up with history. However, while looking back at past presidents – at least at Reagan, especially, one cannot help but notice that he was a performer, perhaps more honest than the well-known republican who still awkwardly manages to be the center of attention. There’s a great line in film that seems quite relevant today as the backlash against GOP continues to prevail. In this case, the individual for instance used to be a democrat in early 1960s describing how he came out. “I didn’t leave them – they left me.”
Woven into the film, you are most likely going to enjoy the amazing Dennis Quaid who performs yet another fantastic role. The quality of production is also commendable with beautiful pictures showing Regency Ranch in California where parts of the movie were shot. There is also a lack of that stir to go below the surface and give a detailed portrayal of a legendary personality. Reagan operates in breezy tribute mode and, thanks to its excellent ensemble cast, likewise offers a great deal of emotionally rewarding material but not much depth.
Watch Free Movies on Hurawatch