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By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged

MANCHESTER, N.H. — I grew up in the 1980s, which helps explain the nostalgia I felt watching “Reagan,” a new feature-length film chronicling the life of President Ronald Reagan.

With a few hours to kill Labor Day afternoon while on a reporting trip to New Hampshire, I bought a $12 ticket to see the 135-minute biopic. 

Directed by Sean McNamara, the movie stars Dennis Quaid as Ronald Reagan and Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan. Jon Voight portrays an old KGB agent — in present day — reflecting on the Reagan years.

My friend David Duncan, a minister in Houston, recommended “Reagan” to me.

“I realize it’s a movie, but it’s great,” Duncan said in a text message. “I had to wipe my eyes with my popcorn-grease-covered napkin.”

I will neither confirm nor deny that I had to do the same. I will acknowledge that I paired Milk Duds with my popcorn.

Largely panned by critics and loved by moviegoers — just see the Rotten Tomatoes ratings — the PG-13 film focuses on the former Hollywood actor’s role in fighting the Cold War and Soviet communism.

But beyond the politics, Reagan’s faith — complicated in real life — emerges as a major storyline in the movie.

Read the full column.

This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.

Photo by Bobby Ross Jr.