'Reagan' Review
“Reagan” is a 2-hour, 21-minute, all-encompassing biopic on Ronald Reagan. It’s a longtime passion project for star Dennis Quaid, who re-teams with “Soul Surfer” and “On a Wing and a Prayer” director Sean McNamara. And you get it all: from Reagan as a youth, to his years as head of the Screen Actors Guild, to running for U.S. President — first in 1976 and then again in ’80.
Quaid is one of my favorite actors, and he doesn’t disappoint. He’s got the look, the voice and the energy. In some wide shots, you truly think he is Reagan. It’s an excellent performance. Penelope Ann Miller is also fantastic as iconic wife, Nancy Reagan. Miller isn’t in the film much, but she knocks it out of the park in every scene.
The perspective of “Reagan” is interesting. The screenplay is adapted from the book The Crusader. Reagan’s life is told from the point of view of KGB agent Viktor Petrovich (played by Jon Voight). It’s a unique approach. The first hour runs through quite a lot of material kinda quickly. It’s slightly shallow and clunky but still very watchable.
And then we get to Reagan in ’76, and from that point on, this film soars. The stakes are raised and you feel the intensity. It’s highly compelling and pretty laser-focused (unlike many historical biopics). I honestly believe you can show the second half of this movie to high schoolers and say, “Here’s Ronald Reagan’s life and time in office and what he meant to the United States of America”, and I think students would get a lot out of it.
We really get a good sense of what shaped Ronald Reagan as a man, and how he shaped his future and this country. By the end, if you’re invested in this story… and maybe if you grew-up with Reagan in The White House or you have family members who did… you might get a little emotional during the final few scenes.
A lot of people, especially on one side of the aisle, won’t give “Reagan” a chance. But you know what? Take politics away. Just look at it as a movie. I think it’s pretty strong.
