Biopics are a dime a dozen. With studios always looking to reduce the risk of their movies losing money, picking a safe bet often motivates the executives in what they choose to greenlight and the manner the projects are greenlit. Because biopics are about famous people that audiences know, there is a presumed profitability buffer.
The downside of this approach is that most biopics are formulaic and play-it-safe. They follow familiar beats, have roughly the same arc in most of these films, and are directed with a blandness that shows a lack of effort. Most biopics are forgotten quickly as they are seen, with little exception.
While Reagan is not good, it is not for the usual reasons. Ronald Reagan is not a tortured genius or a musician wrestling with drug addiction. His life certainly does not fit into the general storytelling mold that so many of these films follow.
And the film seemingly makes some bold storytelling choices. Rather than simply play out the story of his life as a straight narrative, the film is largely presented as the remembrance of a retired KGB agent played by Jon Voight, explaining to a rising star in the Russian political scene about Reagan’s role in the Cold War. While this framework is utter fantasy, it could prove an interesting way to examine the life of an American icon by using the enemy perspective to filter out truth and work as an active interrogation of Reagan’s life. There are also some random flairs of direction throughout the film, including a hilarious comedic depiction of how the Soviet Union lost several leaders in quick succession in the early 80s, leading to Gorbachev’s rise, and another artistic depiction of Reagan being haunted at the idea of the world being destroyed by nuclear warfare.
If only the filmmakers were interested in interrogating Reagan’s life or doing anything remotely interesting in telling his story. To say that the film presents itself as a hagiography is an understatement. It is a film that so unabashedly worships Ronald Reagan that all depth, nuance, or intrigue that might have been present in the material is swept away in the blinding spotlight on Reagan that seeks to appoint him as God’s savior for the free world. In fact, there is a literal scene (apparently lifted from history) where a preacher prophesies that Reagan will wind up president one day.
One of the film’s mistakes that is more common is the attempt to sum up the entire life of Reagan in one film. Even at it its lengthy 142-minute runtime, the film moves at a sprint to jampack as many notable moments as possible. It rushes through so many different life events that the audience can’t catch its breath. More importantly, so little context is provided to the various events depicted, many of which are major historical occurrences, that no sense of drama or stakes can truly be felt. The film climaxes with Reagan’s famed Berlin Wall speech, but the first time the Berlin Wall is even mentioned in the film is in the 4-5 minutes preceding the speech. To say the dramatic moment is unearned is stating it lightly.
This all comes on the back of the Voight character narrating with such a deference and fear of Reagan that this narrative device loses any power it might have had. It kills any dramatic momentum, or any sense of reality, that a KGB agent would state something like Reagan appearing “better dressed” at a diplomatic meeting giving the Americans an immediate advantage, or that he credits Reagan for single-handedly toppling the Soviet Union. The film opens with Voight’s agent stating that he knew decades ahead of time that Reagan would be a threat to the USSR. Regardless of whether one thinks these statements are true, the film fails to sell that it’s true or use it as an effective storytelling device.
The film’s attempted themes fall flat due to how shallow the storytelling is. Reagan is hardly written as a character, beyond a bland desire to “do good.” There might have been something interesting there about a person struggling to find purpose in life, and turning to politics in desperation for meaning while one’s natural charisma helps them coast to success, all while they still wonder whether it is what they really want. There may be some speculative reaching there about whether that was true for Reagan, but at least the film would be staking a thesis with some dynamism to it.
The film’s vacant expression that Reagan just wanted to protect people from communism, and exploring it not at all beyond that, is simply dramatically unengaging. There is no exploration of any of his characteristics beyond broad idioms and ideas. Some of Reagan’s zippy one-liners make it into the film, but most are done in such a rose-colored-glasses manner that why or how Reagan started doing this was completely lost in the film.
Dennis Quaid‘s performance is fine enough for what it is. It veers a tad close to impersonation at times, but still manages to do enough to stand on its own. Penelope Ann Miller also makes for a solid enough Nancy Reagan, given how shallowly written her character is as well. The random stunt casting of Scott Stapp as Sinatra actually works for the one scene he is present in.
Unfortunately, the film’s best qualities are in the sidelines. The de-aging effects for Voight and Quaid are quietly solid, lit in a manner to hide any seams. The film occasionally does a good job of capturing a certain period feeling.
None of this is enough to overcome the film’s fundamental storytelling issues. The prospect of a Ronald Reagan biopic is likely to prove divisive. A conservative icon, Reagan’s legacy continues to be debated to this day. That said, it is a film’s mission only to tell a great story. This film fails in that mission. While one may learn some interesting new facts about Reagan and his life, it is about as riveting as reading a Wikipedia article. As overdone as that comparison is, it is quite apt in this instance.
The film is best summed up in its closing sequence. With Reagan at the end of his days and succumbing to Alzheimer’s, he is asked by his Secret Service agent to hang it up and quit riding horses due to the danger. Reagan asks for one last ride. The film randomly starts playing “Take Me Home, Country Roads” as Nancy wistfully watches her husband ride away into the sunset. Reagan’s farewell address plays as narration as we watch him ride over some hills on his ranch. Saccharine? We’ll let you decide.
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