4 Reasons Reagan Will Be Your Family’s New Favorite Biopic

1. It Covers His Backstory

Most of the film involves Reagan as an adult, but the story begins in Dixon, Ill., where the future president rode his bicycle through the small town streets and attended the Disciples of Christ with his mother. (Today, Dixon and several nearby towns still feature Reagan sites visitors can tour.) 

Reagan's crusade against communism gets its spark when a Soviet defector speaks in his church and warns its members that Godless communism is coming to America. 

We briefly see Reagan play football at Eureka College and hone his voice on WHO radio before the film transitions to his Hollywood career, where he makes a name for himself as a talented actor and the industry's most outspoken critic of communism. His first wife, Jane Wyman, is unhappy with his activism and chides him, "You're an actor."

When Reagan's relationship with Wyman ends in divorce, he falls in love with another actress, Nancy Davis, before the two get married and begin their career in public service, first when Reagan runs for governor of California and then when he runs for president. 

About 40 minutes into the 2-hour, 15-minute film, Reagan is considering a run for political office. 

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2. It's Told through the Eyes of an Ex-Communist Spy (an Admirer)

Though a biopic, the film smartly tells Reagan's story through the eyes of a former communist spy, Viktor Petrovich (Jon Voight), who confides that he spied on Reagan and other opponents of communism but quickly realized that Reagan stood out.

"He was not afraid to take us on," Petrovich says.

Petrovich and others in the film credit Reagan (as well as Pope John Paul II) for the Soviet Union's demise.

The film is based on the book The Crusader by Paul Kengor. 

"Viktor is actually a character based on a number of KGB agents and Soviet analysts who we now know were tasked with keeping tabs on Ronald Reagan for many years," Kengor told The Hollywood Reporter. 

The film depicts Reagan as an activist and politician who believed the United States could bankrupt the Soviets with a massive arms race ("we have deeper pockets than they do"), even though Reagan himself staunchly opposed war and was hesitant to fire a nuclear missile. (In one poignant scene, we see Reagan sitting among his military advisors who are ready to retaliate against a supposed Soviet attack. Reagan, though, doesn't give the go-ahead, and the military soon learns it was a false alarm.) 

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3. It Includes a Stunning Performance by Dennis Quaid

Quaid is as exceptional as Ronald Reagan, capturing his mannerisms, his distinctive speech patterns, and his charismatic presence. It's easy to forget it's an actor and not the 40th president himself on screen. Quaid says he worked on the role for more than a year.

"I didn't want to do an impersonation of him," Quaid told Crosswalk. "Getting past that was the hard part."

Quaid is known for portraying real-world characters: Gordon Cooper in The Right Stuff, Sam Houston in The Alamo, and William "Bull" Halsey in Midway. Reagan, though, is perhaps his biggest challenge yet. After all, many of us grew up watching Reagan. And if not, we've seen numerous clips of him in action.

Quaid said he seeks to portray real-world characters "from their point of view."

"I feel like I have a responsibility," he said. "So getting past that public persona to the person -- that was a daunting task."

Penelope Ann Miller portrays First Lady Nancy Reagan.

The film depicts Reagan naturally progressing into politics after his film career falters and as he is growing disillusioned with the world. After serving two terms as California governor, he narrowly loses the 1976 GOP nomination before winning in 1980 and then surviving an assassination attempt several months later. 

Reagan and Democratic Speaker of the House O'Neill offer our divided culture a bipartisan breath of fresh air, displaying a friendship that deserves to be emulated in D.C. "After 6, we're not enemies. We're just two Irishmen having beer," Reagan tells him. When Reagan is shot, we see O'Neill by his bedside, praying. Their message is clear: We can disagree without being disagreeable. 

The film serves as an educational journey for today's young adults and a nostalgic journey for those who grew up in the '80s. We experience the nuclear arms buildup, the Soviet's 1983 shooting down of a commercial aircraft, the negotiations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and the Iran-Contra affair.

The movie wraps up in his post-presidential years, with Reagan writing a letter to the American people disclosing he has Alzheimer's.  

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4. It's Filled with Faith (and Stays within Family-Friendly Boundaries)

Reagan's faith is a pillar of the film, rooted in the beliefs his mother instilled in him from a young age. We see Reagan baptized.

His presidency is portrayed as divinely ordained, highlighted in a powerful scene where Reverend George Otis prophesies to then-Gov. Reagan, as part of a prayer circle: "If you continue to walk uprightly before Me, you will dwell at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue." Singer Pat Boone portrays Otis on the screen. In real life, though, Boone—today 90—was a young man who supported Reagan. Boone was part of the prayer circle.

Reagan was "glassy-eyed" after the prayer, Boone remembers today.

"I knew what it was -- it was a word of prophecy," Boone told Crosswalk, "that if he walked the straight and narrow path, as he was leading as governor, he would be president someday."

In the film, Reagan references his faith in the final moments, telling Americans: "When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future."

It's rated PG-13 for "violent content and smoking" (the violent content involves the assassination attempt) and contains mild language. Frankly, I thought the film warranted a PG rating.

Reagan is an inspiring film that may not offer many surprises to students of the former president. Still, it powerfully reminds us of what made him a great leader: his unwavering optimism and idealism and his willingness to work with political opponents for solutions. ("The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and ally, not a 20 percent traitor," he said.) In today's polarized and cynical society, there's much we could learn from the Gipper.

Rated PG-13 for violent content and smoking. Language details: h-ll (3), d--n (2), a-- (1).

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