The Reagan Show highlights how the president used the relatively new technology to his advantage. But this documentary isn't merely a walk down memory lane.

| Jul 17, 2020

The most fascinating moments of The Reagan Show are when the line between politics and public relations is shattered. Reagan is best when he has learned his lines... When somebody goes off script, you can see the energy drain out of his face.

| Feb 7, 2020

Incisive, occasionally surreal...

| Mar 21, 2019

The Reagan Show doesn't give us any insight into what was really beyond the show, working only as a record, if an accurate one, of what people speculated at the time.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 26, 2018

It doesn't reveal anything totally unknown or surprising about the "performer in chief," but it's packaged in such a compelling manner.

| Feb 9, 2018

Ronald Reagan and his team changed the whole game of American politics by transforming the White House into a movie studio.

| Dec 28, 2017

The Reagan Show is timely on a number of levels.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 27, 2017

Pacho Velez and Sierra Pettengill have blown a glorious opportunity to explore the extent to which presentation matters more than content when it comes to presidential pronouncements.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 22, 2017

The Reagan Show is a sober reminder of what America is lacking: a politician who can act presidential as the leader of the free world.

| Nov 26, 2017

The fact that Ronald Reagan's administration was big on PR and presentation is hardly news, and, though this documentary made up of television footage from the period claims to focus on that aspect of the presidency, it doesn't dig deep.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 9, 2017

Uncritical, infatuated with Reagan's charisma rather than searching for the chinks in his armour, the film's lively score keeping things balefully light.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 8, 2017

Interesting enough but not especially insightful or revealing.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 8, 2017

The Reagan Show will offer a peculiarly potent hit of nostalgia and cultural cringe.

| Oct 6, 2017

While noble in its cause, the documentary's theme fails to materialize, and there are several glaring omissions...

| Oct 6, 2017

This wry documentary focuses on the original entertainer-turned-president and his box of showbiz tricks.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 6, 2017

The aim of directors Sierra Pettengill and Pacho Velez, anthologising their media moments, is elusive, unless it's to expose the actor-president as a skilful showman.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 5, 2017

If it's hardly a novel perspective on the US presidency, it's nonetheless a compelling one, and one that's especially timely in today's brutal political wars across an ever more complex media and online landscape.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 5, 2017

The Reagan Show pretty much gives away its entire thesis in its title, but it's fun to trawl through these archive images and it allows us to ponder whether we'll ever really be able to claw through the protective layers of spin.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 5, 2017

It reminds us what a limited and one-dimensional politician he was - but also what a consummate performer whenever the cameras were in sight.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 4, 2017

Entertaining if slightly pointless ...

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 4, 2017