“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
President Ronald Reagan issued that challenge to Mikhail Gorbachev, the last General Secretary of the Soviet Union, on June 12, 1987. Just two years later, on November 9, 1989, the wall between East and West Germany did indeed come down, the beginning of the end of the Iron Curtain.
Under Reagan’s leadership, America had won the Cold War.
Those of us who lived through the decades of that chilly conflict remember (depending on how old we are) the specter of nuclear annihilation: Mutually Assured Destruction, or MAD, as it was known. We remember the uncertainty of that critical inflection point in history. We remember Ronald Reagan’s prominent role in staring down the threat of the Russian “Evil Empire,” even as controversies in other areas swirled about his presidency’s second term.
For those born later, though, perhaps Reagan is just another presidential name that means little 35 years after he left office. To those who didn’t live through those years, Reagan might not seem too different from other dead presidents who presided over tumultuous eras and events, such as John F. Kennedy or Franklin D. Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln or George Washington. That is to say, ancient history.
But whether you’re young or old, whether you lived through the tumultuous latter days of the 20th century or not, Reagan, the movie, reminds us why courage and vision, tenacity and faith remain vitally important character qualities in our leaders.
And even though I did live through a portion of that era, Dennis Quaid’s portrayal of Ronald Reagan here shines a light on chapters of this actor-turned-politician’s life that I had little knowledge of myself.
Along the way, we see how the faith of a mother and the love of a devoted wife played huge roles in shaping the heart and soul of a failed actor into a president whose tenacity arguably bent the course of history.
It’s impossible to do full justice to the high points of a historical figure’s entire life in the course of two hours. But Reagan nonetheless gives it a good shot.
In the early 1940s, Ronald Reagan seemed to be a rising star in Hollywood, but the film tells us that his career stalled out, with him being considered a “B-list” actor. And it’s possible, the story hints, that outcome was due in part to conservative philosophical and political aspirations that surface early in Reagan’s career. Jack Warner warns Reagan that Communist infiltrators are seeking to influence the actor’s union, known as the Screen Actor’s Guild, and he tells Reagan he’s going to have to choose a side.
But his first wife, Jane Wyman, finds Reagan’s flirtation with politics disdainful. “Is there anything worse than an actor with a cause” she quips. And then she adds, scornfully, “You are an actor. That is your job. Not politics.”
Given that discrepancy of values, it’s no surprise that Reagan’s first union doesn’t last. His marriage skids toward the rocks about the same time his career does, prompting Reagan to tell his mother, “I lost a child, I lost my marriage, I lost my career.” That’s one of the points at which she encourages him with strong spiritual counsel (which we’ll unpack in the next section).
Despite those struggles, Reagan serves two stints as the president of the Screen Actor’s Guild, staunchly resisting Communist influence.
Near the end of his acting career, when he’s more involved with SAG than actually making movies, Reagan meets Nancy Davis. As their connection deepens, he says of himself, “I’m what you call damaged goods,” noting that he’s divorced, broke and has children from a previous marriage. Nancy gently counters, “We’re all damaged goods, Ronnie.” That prompts him to say, “I just want to do something good in this world, to make a difference.”
In the years that follow, of course, Reagan seeks to make good on that desire, with Nancy constantly encouraging him at his side—first in his run for the governor of California, then his first failed presidential campaign in 1976 (where he lost the Republican nomination to Gerald Ford) and finally in his sunset years as the specter of Alzheimer’s disease looms.
Still, Reagan perseveres, winning the presidency and, ultimately, challenging Communism on a much bigger scale than just Hollywood. Along the way, we get something of a “greatest hits” glimpse at some of Reagan’s best-known speeches and bon mots. “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” he asks. “Do you feel safe? Are we as strong as we were four years ago?”
“It’s morning in America,” he tells us. As well as, “Freedom is only one generation away from extinction.” And, of course, this iconic line: “We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness.”
The movie unpacks Reagan’s unorthodox nuclear arms negotiations with his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Gorbachev. It shows how Reagan’s invitation for the two of them to go for a walk together paved the way for a relationship that yielded real change and mutual respect.
The spiritual themes in Reagan are not too plentiful, but they’re certainly shown to be foundational in this man’s life.
During Reagan’s youth, we see that his mother, Nelle, takes him to the First Christian Church in Dixon, Illinois. In one service there, we hear 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (KJV).
Nelle drills into her young son a sense of divine purpose and calling on his life—lessons that form the bedrock of Reagan’s sense of identity in some tough moments. “God has a purpose for your life,” Nelle instills into her impressionable boy. “Something only you can do.” Elsewhere she reminds him, “Remember to listen to that small, soft voice” when he’s alone and quiet, and to give it his “full attention.” She offers this exhortation as well: “Remember who you are and Whose you are.”
Nelle’s husband, Jack, has succumbed to alcoholism (as we’ll see below). And when Reagan later asks his mother, “Did God have a plan for his [dad’s] life?” Nelle replies, “Of course He does. Unfortunately, he [Jack] has other plans.’
Young Reagan reads a book about baptism that leads him to be baptized himself.
When Nelle dies much later, in 1962, Reagan says, “Thank you, Lord, for my mother.”
In a conversation with Democratic Senator Thomas “Tip” O’Neill, a Catholic, we hear Psalm 23 quoted. There’s a reference to “the joy of knowing God,” as well as a verbal nod to C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. Someone talks about praying for atheists. A character exclaims, “God help me.” A prayer at Reagan’s funeral talks about God’s blessings.
Reagan kisses Jane Wyman. Later, we see his first passionate kiss with Nancy Davis. There are a few other kisses along the way.
As a young man, Reagan served as a lifeguard. He’s depicted as being so “hunky” that women kept feigning drowning so that he’d dive in and rescue them. As such, we see a few modest bathing suits of that 1930s era, as well as Reagan in a singlet-style suit.
A few women wear some outfits that are a bit revealing or accentuate their features. We see some scantily clad dancers when Reagan briefly has an ongoing show in Las Vegas.
We see John Hinkley Jr. shoot Reagan shortly after he gives a speech in 1981, just weeks after Regan’s first inauguration. The scene is dramatic, but not graphic. We hear how the bullet miraculously missed Reagan’s heart. Nancy laments that she wasn’t by his side at the moment, but Reagan counters that she likely would have been shot instead if she had been.
A brawl breaks out between Hollywood actors with different takes on unionizing and the influence of shadowy Communist interlocutors. Later, we see footage of a full-on riot over those issues on a Hollywood set.
A historical montage during the opening credits speeds through the conflict and threat of nuclear war in the decades prior to Reagan entering politics, including World War II, the invention of the atomic bomb, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the deepening geopolitical stalemate of the Cold War.
We hear about (and see the explosive results of) the Soviets shooting down a Korean commercial airliner full of people in 1987.
I suspect that the language used both in Hollywood and Washington, D.C., is generally spicier than what the film depicts. That said, this PG-13 take on those two worlds does include enough language to warrant that rating. We hear five uses of “h—,” two of “d–n,” and one each of “a–,” “b-gger” and a misuse of God’s name. Someone jokes about getting “undies in a wad.” Another person uses a crude hand gesture.
Various characters smoke (cigarettes and cigars) and drink (beer, hard liquor) throughout the film.
Reagan’s father, Jack, is depicted as an alcoholic who was immensely popular at the pub but completely absent at home. A young Ronnie asks his mother earnestly, “Why does dad drink so much?”
Nelle responds in resignation and weariness, “It makes him forget.”
“Forget what?” Ronnie presses.
“All that he wanted to be. All he knows he never will be.”
Despite his influence, not everyone sees Reagan’s accomplishments in as positive a light as the film depicts them. A montage of news stories very briefly references the Iran-Contra controversy, but definitely doesn’t dive deeply into the details, for instance. Some might say that the depiction of Reagan’s character here is thus overly flattering. That said, the film does acknowledge that scandal in particular, even if it doesn’t dig into the nitty-gritty claims against Reagan and some of his closest confidants.
It is a great irony of our age that despite having virtually the sum total of human history a click away on our smartphones, we so often forget what has just happened; what it took to get to where we are today.
Reagan reminds us. This glimpse at one flawed-but-determined man’s leadership reminds us that good and evil exist, that faithfully confronting the latter matters, and that failing to do so has dire consequences.
Indeed, the idea of evil almost seems passe in our world today. It’s not something to be confronted, but a historical idea to (perhaps) be deconstructed.
Reagan, the man, wasn’t perfect. He himself admitted as much in quiet and reflective moments. But his spiritual foundations led him to confront Communism and to fight for freedom. The movie underlines what Reagan’s many admirers believe: He was fueled by optimism and, yes, hope that tomorrow could be better.
In a contemporary political landscape that—no matter where you sit on that spectrum—can easily fuel cynicism and scorn, this depiction of one man’s courage reminds us that character and courage matter, and that we must cling to those virtues.
Some minor content speed bumps, mostly in the form of language as well as some drinking, turn up occasionally. But for mature tweens on up, Reagan offers families a rich opportunity to talk about the intersection of character, faith and politics.
To hear more about actor Dennis Quaid’s experience portraying Reagan, be sure to check out Focus on the Family president Jim Daly’s interview with him here.
After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.
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