‘Reagan’ Review: Dennis Quaid’s Affable yet Authoritative Presidential Performance Leads a Blatantly Worshipful Biopic
variety.comJoe Leydon Film Critic There is a great deal more hagiography than history in “Reagan,” a worshipful biopic of the 40th U.S.
President that often plays like the cinematic equivalent of CliffsNotes, or one of those compact paperback biographies of notable figures that are designed to be consumed in an hour or less.
Director Sean McNamara (“Soul Surfer”), working from a by-the-numbers screenplay by Howard A. Klausner (based on Paul Kengor’s book “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism”), is nothing if not brisk in his recounting of highpoints in the life of an iconic figure who, for better or worse, loomed large and exerted influence on the world stage throughout the final quarter of the 20th century and beyond.
Indeed, McNamara’s movie is so streamlined that, if you knew nothing about Reagan’s Hollywood heyday before he entered politics, you might wonder why he has a poster for the film “King’s Row” hanging prominently in his office during his terms as Screen Actors Guild president.
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