In this month's faith & family entertainment news: new film Reagan includes the faith of the 40th president; Galadriel's redemption launches season two of Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Tim Allen returns with a new family comedy.
The Faith of Reagan
Hitting theaters on Aug. 30, the new biopic Reagan profiles Ronald Reagan, the 40th president -- and his Christian faith is featured prominently.
At a recent panel discussion about the film at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California, Amanda Righetti, who plays Reagan's mother, Nelle, explained:
I learned that she was the youngest of seven children. Her mother passed when she was 17, and her and her father had a sort of very estranged relationship. And she fell into the arms of Jack Reagan, and he was a Catholic, she was Protestant, which was a big no-no back then.
But she stuck with her Protestant roots and raised her children in the faith of God, and really led them with that strong hand and a very strong moral compass. I think she dove into the church world. I don't know if it was a way to escape the hardships of her own life, but she survived influenza of 1918, she almost died.
And her faith in God really grew strong. And that was something that she profoundly put upon her children and raised her children with that compass.
The film also explores Reagan's opposition to communism, which dated from early in his life, and how that figured into his dealings in the Cold War during the 1980s. Reagan is shown as a young man (played by Catholic David Henrie) at a meeting in his church, hearing a Soviet dissident (Elya Baskin) describe the truth of life in the Soviet Union.
Reagan also had a frenemies sort of relationship during his presidency with Rep. Tip O'Neill, an Irish-American, Catholic Democrat from Boston, who was Speaker of the House during most of Reagan's tenure in office.
In one scene, following the 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan, O'Neill visits the president (who generally attended Presbyterian services as an adult) in the hospital. O'Neill carries a Rosary (I've heard it actually belonged to actor Dan Lauria), and together they recite part of the 23rd Psalm.
At the panel discussion, a clip was shown of early days between Reagan and O'Neill, in which the president reminds the Speaker that every day has a 6 p.m,, adding, "Well, after 6:00, we're not political enemies, we're just two Irishmen having a beer."
Said Quaid at the panel:
Well, that scene actually really happened, and it became where Tip O'Neill was over at the White House a lot more than he had to be. Because they were friends, they would in advance try to figure out some kind of compromise and come closer to each other, than, it's going to be my way or the highway.
Compromise is what America was built on. And Reagan had a great way of saying it. He would say, "Just because he disagrees with me about 20% of this issue, he's not a 20% enemy. He's an 80% friend."
And they had a way of coming together. I mean, it's emblematic of the way I wish we could be like, and we still can be, to get back to working together as Americans.
Quaid also said:
After Reagan got shot, he really did believe that his life was no longer his own. That it was God's purpose for him. That was what he was going to work for. And that's what he did.
Click here for the official movie site, and take a look at the trailer:
Ronald Reagan also worked in the Family Theater Productions' radio dramas, produced by FTP founder Venerable Patrick Peyton. Click here to stream The Tin Whistle (1948), featuring Reagan in the voice cast.
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The Redemption of Galadriel
As portrayed by Cate Blanchett in the film versions of Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the elf Galadriel is ethereal and wise. But, as portrayed in a younger version by Morfyyd Clark in season one of Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (a k a LOTR:TROP) she's rude, petulant and impulsive -- and unwittingly helps the cause of the evil Sauron (Charlie Vickers), who's posing as a human.
In season two, which launches Aug. 29 on Prime Video, forgiveness and redemption are major themes.
Galadriel has a lot of 'splainin' to do, and a lot to make up for; dwarf Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) needs to mend fences with both his father and his old pal, elf Elrond (Robert Aramayo); and grieving Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) is dangerously on the outs with elf Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), in the wake of the death of his mother, Arondir's love.
There are plenty of other storylines, but LOTR:TROP showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay seem no more adept this season at interweaving them into satisfying episodes than in season one. I've seen three episodes so far, and they seem like a repeat of season one's structure -- with parallel storylines only coming together at some future point.
That's fine for a movie or miniseries, but in TV, individual episodes should have some thematic coherence. This sort of movies-chopped-into-chunks style is unfortunately common these days, so we'll have to see what happens in future LOTR:TROP episodes.
Here's the new trailer, unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con:
Tim Allen Returns
Star of Home Improvement, Last Man Standing and the Santa Clause movies, Tim Allen is planning a return to ABC, with a new sitcom called Shifting Gears, as star and executive producer.
From Variety:
The official logline for the series states that Allen stars as Matt, “the stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. When Matt’s estranged daughter (Kat Dennings) and her teenage kids move into his house, the real restoration begins.”
The cast also includes Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as Stitch, Maxwell Simkins as Carter, and Barrett Margolis as Georgia.
The series is on the hunt for a new showrunner following the departure of original writers/executive producers Mike Scully and Julia Thacker Scully, so no premiere date has been yet announced.
Allen, a Christian, discussed his complicated relationship with God, in a 2017 interview:
Images: (Top) Dennis Quaid as Ronald Reagan in Reagan/Rawhide Pictures; (embedded) Ronald Reagan, Family Theater Productions
Kate O’Hare, a longtime entertainment journalist, is Social Media Content Manager at Family Theater Productions.
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