'Reagan' film: Why critics hate it, but regular folks love it

I recently saw the movie “Reagan.” It features a positive portrayal of our 40th president’s laser-like focus to end the Cold War and the nuclear arms race. Reagan’s philosophy: “We win, they lose.”

Critics seem to hate this movie, but regular folks love it. In fact, the movie review website, “Rotten Tomatoes” notes this discrepancy. Only 18% of the critics (based on 61 reviews) like the film, while 98% of the movie-going public (based on “5000+ verified ratings”) actually like it.

I was delighted to see at the very opening of the film that it was based on a book by Dr. Paul Kengor of Grove City College, The Crusader. I whispered to my wife, “Hey. I know that guy!”

The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism is one of eight books Kengor has written on Ronald Reagan. I’m a fan of Kengor’s and have interviewed him probably more than 50 times — mostly on radio.

Kengor wrote an article in the American Spectator, responding to critics of the movie, such as The Daily Beast, who called it “the worst movie of the year.” They said: “You may have suspected that this MAGA-tinged hagiography would be absolute trash, but it turns out you didn’t think low enough.”

Well, in Reagan’s day, there was the same type of discrepancy: The intelligentsia hated him and what he stood for, while the common people loved him and his policies.

Professor Kengor writes about a recent encounter: “One of my students asked how a man so vilified managed to win 49 of 50 states, nearly 60% of the vote, and the Electoral College 525 to 13, receiving millions of votes from Democrats. The answer is [those who vilified him were] always a small percentage filled with rage toward Ronald Reagan and any conservative Republican.”

The movie reminded me of why I appreciated Ronald Reagan and his substantial presidency so much. Consider some of Reagan’s accomplishments:

• In one day, just by getting sworn in, he ended the Iranian hostage crisis (the Iranians knew enough not to fool around with Reagan at the helm).
• He played a critical role in ending the Cold War
• He was the key architect of the longest peacetime expansion of the economy in our nation’s history, which lasted about two decades.

Above all, he inspired hope — especially at a time when we sorely needed it.

President Reagan managed to successfully pull together various factions. Leaders since his time have not done so well.

Reagan was:

• Conservative on defense.
• Conservative on the economy.
• Conservative on social issues.

He combined these values in one man — and an articulate man at that. Reagan knew what he believed and why he believed it. Therefore, he was able to inspire members of diverse groups to claim him as their own, thus, creating a great coalition.

As to the social issues, consider his pro-life stance. I remember to this day what Reagan said during a 1980 debate on abortion. A reporter asked him in a hostile way, as I recall, why he wasn’t “pro-choice”? He responded, “Well, first of all, I happen to notice that everyone who’s pro-choice has already been born.”

Furthermore, as president, in 1984, Ronald Reagan even penned a short book on the whole issue of the sanctity of life. It was entitled, Abortion and the Conscience of a Nation.

When I first interviewed Kengor, we discussed another of the professor’s books, God and Ronald Reagan. Kengor mentioned how the great communicator’s first role in leadership was at his church as a teenager in Dixon, Illinois.

Another thing I learned from Dr. Kengor is that when Reagan was a young man and was baptized, his mother gave him a book that helped set the direction of his life. The book was That Printer of Udell’s by Harold Bell Wright, a heavily religious novel, dated 1903.

That book is shown in the movie as a key influence in the life of Reagan. For those who have seen the movie, this is the supposedly nefarious (to the Soviets) book that the Jon Voight character (as a Russian leader, worried about Reagan) keeps bringing up. To understand Reagan, understand that book.

It’s essentially the story of a man who comes to have strong faith and who then sees himself called by the Lord to do something important for the world. So, he runs for public office and eventually ends up in Washington, DC, as a successful statesman. This now-forgotten Christian book helped set the trajectory for one of our greatest presidents.

I highly recommend “Reagan” the movie. As I wrote to Paul Kengor: “Paul, what a great film. Thanks for your role in helping create it.” This is a movie I plan to see again, and hope others will too.