REAGAN
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Penelope Ann Miller, Jon Voight, Alex Sparrow, Mena Suvari, Justin Chatwin, David Henrie, and Trevor Donovan
Director: Sean McNamara
QUENTIN
Regardless of your thoughts on Ronald Reagan (Dennis Quaid), his politics, or the degree to which Reagan genuinely is hagiographical, the former president deserved a better biopic than this. Parts of it feel like a religion-tinged movie based on an SNL skit (“Mastermind,” anyone?), with acting that is, at best, a cheap impression (Quaid) and, at worst, built on Lifetime-levels of campiness (Penelope Ann Miller). I mean, Creed frontman Scott Stapp cameos as Frank Sinatra, for Chrissake! On top of that, the score, cinematography, and story structure are borderline garbage, and the level of hand-waving away certain events is offensive to American history. It’s laughably bad.
PRESTON
Reagan is an outrageously rose-colored tale of the late U.S. President, played by Dennis Quaid. Most oddly, the film is told through narration by a (fictional) former Russian KGB agent, Viktor Petrovich (Jon Voight), who has been following Reagan with awe and trepidation since his start in Hollywood. He just knew that this random actor would be the end of the Soviet Union and, to his dismay, he was ultimately proven right! Laughable. The hagiographic elements go so far as to even spin the Iran-Contra affair in a positive light!! Overall, this toothless script could have been so much more.
