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Chris Gore and Alan Ng review "Reagan,” now playing in theaters.
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0:03
Reagan is in theaters it is an
0:05
independent film starring Dennis Quaid
0:08
as President Ronald
0:12
Reagan it's in theaters now it's about a
0:16
two and a half hour uh biopic of his
0:19
career and oddly it's told through the
0:22
point of view of a Russian
0:25
spy uh played by um God John voyd John
0:29
Vo plays a Russian spy that has had
0:33
Ronald Reagan in his sights for years
0:36
and seen him as a threat even before he
0:39
became president and we see kind of the
0:42
highlights of Reagan's career up to
0:45
winning the presidency and the fall of
0:47
the Berlin wall and um I if you see the
0:51
movie it's all the classic if you've
0:54
seen news footage of Reagan you would
0:56
remember you know um like tear down that
0:59
wall he says it in the movie Dennis this
1:03
whole thing really I don't know that I
1:05
agree with the way it was
1:07
structured I don't know if the point of
1:10
view of Voit really added anything it
1:13
was a a way to contextualize and tell
1:16
his career but I think you just could
1:20
have cut that all out just F us him
1:24
being
1:25
Reagan and Dennis
1:27
Quaid is amazing in this film in any in
1:33
in any and and by the way Dennis Quaid
1:36
is a republican no he's an independent
1:38
he's an well you can tell he likes
1:42
Reagan saw he likes Reagan but he's an
1:45
independent but he
1:48
um he is amazing I mean in the when he
1:51
turns into the older R version of Ronald
1:55
Reagan and he's he's getting like the
1:57
voice right and kind of the the way the
1:59
head moves
2:00
and um really really amazing performance
2:04
I saw this film I got one seat I'm like
2:07
I'll see a 3 pm show in the afternoon it
2:10
was packed yeah I couldn't believe it it
2:14
was it's not playing in a lot of
2:15
theaters it was packed and I was like
2:19
why is this movie packed it was crazy
2:22
and by the way an unruly older audience
2:26
all went to see it um and they loved it
2:29
clap at the end and in any like normal
2:34
time Dennis Quaid would be nominated for
2:37
an
2:39
Oscar if we lived in normal times it's a
2:43
great performance of a beloved president
2:46
there were as they say Reagan democrats
2:49
Democrats Who Loved Reagan and while I
2:52
think the film is flawed by the running
2:55
time the structure with John Voit I
2:57
really think you could have cut his
2:59
whole character out honestly but I
3:03
walked away just not only enjoying the
3:06
movie it made me sad for a time when we
3:10
had a leader that comforted the com the
3:14
country through rough times that spoke
3:17
to issues for all Americans instead of
3:21
things being so
3:24
divided so it in the end when I was
3:29
watching the film I felt so sad like wow
3:32
we could use a president like Reagan
3:35
right now um but I I highly recommend
3:39
the film I give it a seven and a half or
3:42
eight out of
3:44
10 the performance of Dennis Quaid is
3:46
the reason to see it he plays young
3:49
Reagan all the way through older Reagan
3:51
they do flash the end literally to the
3:54
end yeah and they deal head-on with
3:57
controversies about Reagan they him as a
4:00
child being bullied and his mother
4:03
saying you got to stand up to bullies
4:05
which was something reminds me my mother
4:07
said when I was a kid when I was a kid i
4:11
w i you know every kid gets bullied I
4:14
was bullied my mom I remember saying
4:16
very clearly my mom said you gotta fight
4:19
your own
4:21
battles when I would come and say hey
4:23
these kids are bugging me learn to fight
4:25
your own battles that taught me a lot
4:28
and to see that same advice from
4:30
Reagan's mother to a young little boy
4:33
Reagan was uh really got to me so I
4:37
recommend the film Allan what did you
4:39
think of Reagan so you're saying I
4:41
shouldn't cry to YouTube every time I'm
4:43
offended yeah don't cry to YouTube okay
4:46
no what did you think of the movie i i i
4:48
al I think we talked about when when we
4:51
watched the trailer on the Channel that
4:53
I was like oh this is just G to be
4:55
another one of those stupid biopics um I
4:58
love this movie um and I will I will say
5:01
I uh I have a bias and and I mentioned
5:04
the review I I definitely have a bias
5:05
coming to this because I was in high
5:08
school when uh when Reagan got into
5:11
office the first time and uh when during
5:14
his reelection I was in high school and
5:16
I was I was a firmly a Reagan Republican
5:20
at that time even though I couldn't vote
5:22
um but uh this this movie just brought
5:25
up every memory I have of Ronald Reagan
5:28
especially during the Cold War
5:30
uh to me you know I this is this movie
5:33
is all about the memberberries because I
5:35
remember living through the Cold War
5:36
Chris you remember living the yeah I
5:38
live oh I remember the debates I
5:41
remember in I remember Carter yeah the
5:44
Carter Reagan debate there you go again
5:46
yeah I was I was a teenage I was barely
5:48
a teenager during the Carter debates and
5:50
I was watching these debates and you
5:53
know at that time I was just kind of
5:54
form forming my political Viewpoint uh
5:57
and living in California weirdly enough
6:00
you know you were already on board with
6:02
Reagan at the time uh and um so yeah I
6:06
mean 100% uh I I loved Ronald Reagan as
6:10
a president he's he's one of my
6:12
favorites uh and I love the movie and
6:15
yes I'm clouded I'm biased uh and what I
6:20
liked about the movie is it gave a lot
6:22
of context as to why things were
6:24
happening because all we saw was Reagan
6:26
on television Reagan in speeches and to
6:29
see his background and why he said
6:32
things and why he did certain things why
6:35
he walked away from gorbachov uh over
6:37
this Star Wars program um the I mean the
6:42
the tear down this wall when you see the
6:44
context of that speech uh it is it is
6:47
more chilling than than seeing it in
6:49
real life because you now know why he's
6:52
saying it why it was so important for
6:54
him to to say those words and to uh to a
6:57
couple years after his Pres see to see
7:00
that Wall come down um you know and and
7:04
it's it's also funny that uh so I'm I'm
7:07
I'm having this giant Love Fest and then
7:10
about two-thirds of the mo two-thirds of
7:12
the way into the movie uh they show clip
7:15
after clip clip of people hating Reagan
7:18
and how how vilified he was and I'm like
7:21
oh yeah I remember all that now um you
7:23
know I remember that Genesis song that
7:26
went after Reagan and I'm like oh yeah I
7:27
remember I love that song um but I I'll
7:31
end on this one um he one of the
7:34
relationships in this movie that is the
7:36
most fascinating is his friendship with
7:38
tip O'Neal um yeah you know you got to
7:41
understand that re Ronald Reagan won the
7:44
election as a Republican and in his
7:46
first term dealt with a democrat
7:48
congress Democrat Senate Democrat con uh
7:51
Congress and um and he got a lot done
7:55
and this is to me the sign of true
7:58
leadership it is actually being able to
8:00
cross the aisle and get things done and
8:03
realizing that you know we agree more on
8:07
things than we don't and to be able to
8:09
legislate and and uh and encourage you
8:12
know the opposing party to to get
8:15
aspects of your program done like a tax
8:17
cut uh you know it just shows you what
8:20
what true leadership is and I think
8:22
that's the theme of this movie is is why
8:25
Ronald Reagan was such a great leader
8:28
and why we missed that kind of person
8:29
today and and and I think Ronald Reagan
8:33
is one of the reasons why we are so
8:35
divided because you know as if you know
8:38
anything about the 84 election he won in
8:41
a landslide uh you know again with the
8:43
Democratic Congress and uh and I think
8:46
that just kind of spoke to both sides
8:48
saying you cannot let your opposing
8:50
party get wins and um you know and
8:53
that's kind of where where it begins and
8:56
ends for me I I'd love this movie um and
8:59
I realize that a lot of my Democrat
9:01
friends will hate this movie they'll
9:03
hate it like knee-jerk but I lived
9:05
through this history I remember I was
9:08
very I wasn't like I couldn't wait till
9:11
I could turn 18 to vote yeah um so I was
9:17
like but I watched every presidential
9:19
debate I paid attention I I I I should
9:23
give my sub more credit I like paid
9:25
attention to all this stuff all the
9:26
moments with Reagan and it like just him
9:29
being the what they say the father of
9:32
our country when things are are bad to
9:35
actually come to the American people and
9:38
give a speech to give calm and context
9:42
do our leaders do this now yeah they do
9:46
and they seow division it made me crave
9:50
real leadership and love of country and
9:53
love of a great leader that can bring us
9:55
together put our differences aside to
9:58
come together and none of this is
10:00
happening now and it just it just
10:03
reminded me of oh that was yeah I mean I
10:07
remember also like I would listen to a
10:09
lot of punk rock music that hated Reagan
10:12
yeah but you
10:13
know what he did standing up to Russia
10:16
at the time he he even says in the movie
10:19
I'm gonna start a war without firing a
10:21
shot yeah with words and he has the
10:24
relationship with the Young The Young uh
10:26
Speech writer that thing it was so good
10:30
and so many scenes in this movie
10:32
resonate about what's happening now the
10:36
the protesters on the college
10:38
campus that
10:40
scene was like that's a comment on
10:44
what's Happening Now it happened but wow
10:48
is there so much of what was in this
10:50
movie is a comment on today yeah through
10:53
the lens of P the past was amazing and
10:57
so many people don't now don't even know
11:00
our recent history it's very sad so yeah
11:03
well I mean the whole his whole hatred
11:05
of
11:06
Communism uh and and how that he was
11:09
kind of brought up realizing the dangers
11:11
of
11:12
Communism yes and the other thing is you
11:15
know you mentioned you didn't like the
11:16
uh John Voit segments uh I did uh and
11:20
and I think a because it was it was a
11:23
different way to tell the story and B it
11:26
was it was the admonition it was the uh
11:29
it was the uh you know it was it was the
11:33
confession that that Ronald Reagan got
11:36
the best of them that that they could
11:37
have won the Cold War uh but it was
11:40
Ronald Reagan who you know he knew how
11:42
to play play the game and he played it
11:45
well and that uh and that the the John
11:48
voy character was supposed to notify the
11:51
Kremlin of credible threats in the
11:54
political sphere and when he mentions
11:57
Ronald Reagan the actor know no one took
11:59
him seriously and and that to me that
12:02
was the whole point of of that character
12:04
and why it exists is that uh it snuck up
12:07
on them and uh and he wanted up being
12:09
right all along well I think you could
12:12
have set it up with that character and
12:14
bookended but he's throughout the movie
12:17
it adds running time I don't know that
12:19
we needed it but uh that's that's the
12:23
biggest flaw is that structure but the
12:26
movie is still amazing Dennis quid
12:29
amazing yeah
12:32
Oscar he should get nominated he will
12:35
not yep because of current day he will
12:39
not get
12:41
nominated for a deserved Oscar for his
12:44
performance yeah the other thing is he
12:47
was such a people person I mean look he
12:49
he became close friends not only with
12:52
Tipo tip O'Neal Who was a speaker of the
12:54
house at the time but with Mel Gorbachev
12:57
himself and uh and see it at the end of
12:59
the movie where uh Gorbachev was
13:02
actually at the funeral of Ronald Reagan
13:04
and and laid laid flowers there for him
13:07
so strong recommendation from both you
13:10
and I for Reagan see it it's a limited
13:13
release it's an indie movie and it's
13:17
really amazing see it soon because the
13:19
old people are buying all the
13:22
tickets it was the same thing at my
13:24
theater uh it wasi people yeah it's
13:29
funny I'm saying it having lived through
13:30
it as well along with them but yeah it
13:32
was old people yeah I was the youngest
13:35
guy at the screening yeah and you know
13:38
and also I'm in Orange County uh I
13:40
watched it you know literally a half a
13:42
mile from the Nixon Library so you know
13:45
we're kind of biased here too
13:59
my is my
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