Movie Review: The Reagan Show

The Reagan Show *** / *****

Directed by: Sierra Pettengill & Pacho Velez.

Written by: Josh Alexander & Francisco Bello & Pacho Velez.

 

It’s a somewhat odd experience watching The Reagan Show about 8 months into Donald Trump’s presidency. No matter what you think of Ronald Reagan – and opinions pretty much run the gamut – Reagan looks damn near regal compared to Trump. This documentary is made up entirely of newsreel footage, and some behind the scenes footage, of Reagan’s 8 years in the White House – with a few intertitle cards to give additional context. At only 74 minutes, it could hardly be called an extensive overview of Reagan’s years as President – nor is it pretending to be. What the film does seek to portray – and mainly succeeds – is how skilled Reagan and his team were at using the media for their own gains. Some talking head in the movie says that Reagan spends 1/3 of this time coming up with policy, and 2/3 trying to sell it. This movie is more about that 2/3.

 

Regan, of course, wasn’t the first President to use TV as a way to sell his image to the American people – but he was the one who probably perfected it. While his critics called him an empty suit and out-of-touch, he found a way to come across as folksy and relatable. The early parts of the movie seem more obsessed with the image that Reagan was presenting to the American people, than any type of policy he was selling. It’s in the back half where the movie starts to delve into that – in particular, in its coverage of the various meetings between Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev – that eventually ended with the pair agreeing to de-escalate the nuclear arms race. The film touches on Reagan’s obsession with Star Wars – a horribly expensive, and useless, missile defense system in space, and the Iran Contra scandal, but doesn’t dwell on them.

 

The Reagan Show is useful as a document to perhaps show a stepping stone on how America got to the place it no is. Ronald Reagan was an actor – a Hollywood showman, who knew how to sell an image, and how to communicate a message. He manipulated the media, and charmed audiences. If you love Ronald Reagan, you will find much here to bolster your love. If you hate him, you’ll find the same amount of to bolster that. This isn’t a documentary that takes shot at both side, but rather lays it bare, and allows you to see what you want.

 

The film doesn’t directly comment on Trump, of course, but it’s hard not to think of the current President (the filmmaker do reference him, obliquely, when they choose a clip of Reagan saying “Let’s Make American Great Again” right before the title appears on screen). Reagan was the first President who came through Hollywood, and TV, to get to the White House. Trump has come there through reality television – an even bigger cesspool. It’s hard not to see them on the same continuum – while at the same time, marveling just how far things have fallen in not that long a period of time.