Not many actors get the opportunity to become political figures...with the exception of Arnold Schwarzenegger, yet I digress. Gaining political status as president of the Screen Actors Guild, governor of California then eventually becoming president of the United States was the impressive résumé that belonged to the one and only Ronald Reagan. From Reagan’s childhood to his acting career and on with his successful political movements, Reagan really delivers a complete biography on the incredible life that Ronald had.
The biography begins with the 1980 assassination attempt on President Reagan that shocked the country. A brief introduction to get the viewer invested right out of the gate. The story of the assassination gets split up into about four separate parts. Reagan’s life as a child and actor get spliced in between those segments.Then once the assassination is dealt with and Reagan is back in action, it goes into the battle to end the nuclear standoff with Russia.
Ronald Reagan was born in a small Illinois town on February 6, 1911. Throughout his childhood, Ronald was the kid everyone liked. He played on many sport teams and made many friends. It was in the church where he learned that he enjoyed speaking in front of people. From then on, he decided that he wanted to be an actor. After graduating college Reagan started working radio gigs at a local station, which eventually led him to Hollywood. Once he was in Hollywood it couldn’t have seemed easier to get in a movie. Ronald Reagan did a screen test for Warner Brothers that sparked a spree of films that featured Reagan himself.
With the success generated by his movies, Ronald then became the president of the Screen Actors Guild. During the 1940’s there was a lot of anti-communism flowing through America after just finished World War II. It was Reagan’s job as president of the SAG to provide actors to the FBI that seemed to be pro-communism within the acting community. This is how he came to meet his second and final wife Nancy Davis. She was accidentally posted on the list because there was another Nancy Davis that was supposed to be the actual culprit.
Reagan’s new job working for General Electric helped him tour the country and speak to the working class society. Now knowing what the American people want, the love of speaking to people, and the fame to support it all was a perfect recipe for the decision to become a politician. Reagan started as a democrat but became a republican after some differences the party. Then in 1967 he finally became governor of California and reigned all the way up to 1975.
In 1976 Reagan challenged Gerald Ford to be the republican nominee for president. Ford won by a slim margin and became president, but that didn’t stop Reagan from running in the next election and beating Jimmy Carter to become the fortieth president of the United States in 1980.
In Reagan’s first-term as president there was an assassination attempt executed outside of a Washington Hilton Hotel. Reagan was pierced with a ricochet bullet just under his armpit and was near an inch from his heart. A successful surgery and several days of rest helped him overcome a close brush with death and strongly influenced a new outlook on his decisions.
The popularity of Reagan is sky high and he goes on the win his second-term as president. In the biography, it mainly focuses on the Cold War and the negotiations with Mikhail Gorbachev. Meeting with Gorbachev on two separate occasions (Geneva, Switzerland in 1985 and Reykjavik, Iceland in 1988) to discuss the disarming of all nuclear weapons. This eventually led to the treaty between the United States and Russia disarming nuclear weapons and the tearing down of the Berlin wall. These are just two of the major accomplishments from Reagan’s candidacy.
As far as biographies go, this one doesn’t miss much. It includes an entire background profile of Reagan and his rise to fame. It documents the major events throughout his presidency. It definitely isn’t the most fun thing to watch, but if you’re a fan of Reagan’s policies and are curious to know more about him, or just love biographies you should check this one out.
DVD Bonus Features
No special features.
"Reagan" is on sale May 24, 2011 and is rated R. Documentary, Education. Written and directed by Matthew Ginsburg. Starring Ronald Reagan.
