The film reminds us that Reagan’s achievements were momentous, and that he saw them through with sunny and inspiring optimism.
The critics have been unmerciful in their reviews of the movie Reagan which features Dennis Quaid in the titular role. Inspired by The American Spectator editor Paul Kengor’s book The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism, the film has been widely derided as a “hagiography” that preaches to the choir of supporters of the 40th U.S. president.
Even National Review barely mustered a compliment. “And to the extent that Quaid served as a jukebox playing some of Reagan’s greatest hits, there were enjoyable moments — and some that were quite moving.” The critics have misunderstood the movie just as they probably misunderstood the Reagan presidency.
Directed by Sean McNamara, the ensemble film also stars Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan, Jon Voight as fictional KGB agent Viktor Petrovich, Mena Suvari as Reagan’s first wife actress Jane Wyman, C. Thomas Howell as Casper Weinberger, Xander Berkeley as George Schultz, Amanda Righetti as Reagan’s mother Nell, and Lesley-Anne Down as Margaret Thatcher. (READ MORE from Leonora Cravotta: Hit Man Is Destined To Become a Hit)
Reagan opens with the 1981 assassination attempt at the DC Hilton Hotel before flashing back to Reagan’s childhood in Dixon, Illinois. The narrative then jumps back to 1981 with Reagan famously endeavoring to diffuse his brush with death with the words “I forgot to duck.” The focus on the Hilton Hotel shooting imbues the film with a Twilight Zone-type aura given the recent assassination attempt on former president and 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump.
