Reagan Review
Reagan (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Sean McNamara, written by Howard Klausner and starring Dennis Quaid, Penelope Ann Miller, Mena Suvari, Jon Voight, C. Thomas Howell, Amanda Righetti, Justin Chatwin, Kevin Sorbo, Lesley-Anne Down, Xander Berkeley, Jennifer O’Neill, Trevor Donovan, David Henrie, Kevin Dillon, Robert Davi, Nick Searcy, Ryan Whitney and Dan Lauria.
Where’s Oliver Stone when you need him? Director Sean McNamara has directed a Ronald Reagan biopic that one really needed to see through the eyes of Stone. McNamara has fashioned a fair assessment of the presidency of Ronald Reagan in a cookie-cutter way. Reagan is still a film of little significance to those who lived through his presidency, though. Reagan is shown trying to cut taxes to increase customer spending. He’s shown living his life as an actor, SAG president, an FBI informant and commercial product spokesperson but was all that necessary to tell the tale of his presidency and the effect of it on American history? Probably not. McNamara has made the most standard biopic possible but the performances by Dennis Quaid and Penelope Ann Miller elevate it a bit to something that is more intriguing to watch than it could have been.
Reagan casts a lot of one-time big name stars who have sort of faded in oblivion. Besides one-time household name stars who succeed like Miller and Lesley-Anne Down as Margaret Thatcher, the rest of the supporting cast is a washout. American Beauty‘s Mena Suvari barely registers as Reagan’s former significant other, Jane Wyman, and C. Thomas Howell all but falters in a meaningless role as Caspar Weinberger. This movie is framed with a story being told around the viewpoints of Viktor Petrovich who is played by Jon Voight who seems like he’s going for a Razzie this year for Worst Supporting Actor.
Mikhail Gorbachev is seen in the movie and as played by Olek Krupa, it’s easy to occasionally get the feel that one got when watching the current events that took place during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. The movie shows a lot based upon the events that led up to the dismantling of the wall between East and West Germany. I’m not sure (William) Oliver Stone would have made this material the focal point of his Ronald Reagan movie if he ever had the desire to make one. It may have been more enjoyable to see more inside the White House but this new film shows Reagan talking about his education and sharing boring tidbits with those in his administration. Stone made films about JFK, Nixon and George W. Bush. He knew how to cut to the bone. McNamara does not.
There are some unnecessarily funny scenes. Reagan is seen promoting products like Icee in his less glorious days as his fading star as an actor diminished. Nancy Reagan goes out campaigning with Ronald and tells an everyday woman that her husband’s initials are “RR.” This lady thinks it’s “Roy Rogers.” Hardy har har. This isn’t a comedy, though, so these scenes could have been edited out.
I won’t lie. Dennis Quaid and Penelope Ann Miller play the President and his First Lady very well. Quaid is effective as Ronald Reagan and a scene where he’s in the hospital after a shooting with Nancy by his side is terrific. This film portrays the love story of the film in a way that I actually was fond of. Oliver Stone wouldn’t have gone down this route but McNamara gets this section right on the money. Watching Nancy romanced by Ronald and seeing them horseback riding together is splendid. It’s just not the definitive Ronald Reagan movie some may have been hoping for. It still has some very intriguing and fascinating moments nevertheless.
The film’s biography portion opens with Reagan as a kid who finds religion and has an earnest nature about him which helps him grow as a person. People call him “Dutch.” These sequences are completely and utterly useless. They don’t help shed any light on Reagan’s presidency except in the most basic or elemental ways.
Dennis Quaid bites into his role and chews scenery throughout. This is not an impression of Reagan but rather a heartfelt performance through and through. Penelope Ann Miller shines beside him, breathing life into Nancy and rejuvenating her career in the interim. Miller had made diverse movies like The Freshman and The Relic in the past and it’s great to see her working again.
Does Reagan work on the most simplistic level as a film? Maybe, it’s a safe way to present segments of Reagan’s achievements to American history students. For those seeking deeper meaning, there’s the adequate and satisfying love story between Ronald and Nancy. Who wouldn’t want to see this material in Oliver Stone’s hands and compare it to this film and see who made the better movie? While we all know the answer of whose film would be better, McNamara has made a piece of film-making that some general audiences may find compelling. But, it’s certainly not the definitive biopic that it could have been. Anyone who lived through the Reagan era could probably attest to that fact.
Rating: 6/10
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