The author of the books that inspired the "Reagan" movie reflects on the significant difference between critical and audience reviews.

Paul Kengor, the author of "Reagan," stated that the difference between the Rotten Tomatoes critics' score and the audience score for the movie was similar to President Reagan's landslide victory in the 1980 presidential election, as he remembered the books' successful journey to theaters.

"Reagan," with a 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, is one of the year's best reviewed films, despite having a stark contrast between its positive audience score and the dismal critics' score of 18%.

The Boston Globe's writer deemed it an "endless biography" and a "dreadful 2.5-hour snooze that lacks curiosity about its subject." The Washington Post critic considered it "useless" as a historical piece, while the Daily Beast named it the "worst movie of the year."

The gap between the audience and critics' reviews was similar to the 1980 presidential election, where Reagan won in a landslide against Carter.

"Kengor stated that the disparity in the reviews was significant, reminiscent of the 1984 election when Ronald Reagan won 49 out of 50 states, which is approximately 98% of the states. If you calculate the vote percentages, 49 out of 50 states won about 60% of the vote and won the Electoral College 525 to 13. However, there were liberal critics who did not like him, and they were in the minority. Kengor advised his students and others to question liberal professors who criticize Ronald Reagan in the classroom by asking, "How did the guy win 49 out of 50 states?""

Reagan's critics lacked the proper perspective because they were born after his presidency, according to Kengor.

"The film artistically received criticism from some fair-minded critics, but a lot of them were partisan and ideological. Upon further investigation, the reviewers were born after the Reagan years and struggle to comprehend a time when everyone in America liked the president, even liberals who did not vote for him."

Mark Joseph, a filmmaker from Rock River, Illinois, contacted Kengor to discuss turning "God and Ronald Reagan" into a movie. Kengor was intrigued but proposed his book "The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism" as a more compelling film idea.

It took 20 years for the movie to be released.

Securing Dennis Quaid as the lead was crucial in getting the movie off the ground, according to Kengor.

"We had several promising big names at different points, any of which would have been good. Then, Dennis Quaid became available and interested. Mark Joseph contacted him, and they took him to the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara. There, they put him in a cowboy hat and a denim jacket, the Reagan Ranch jacket."

Kengor was taken aback by the industry's workings when a friend who had previously criticized their movie process called to congratulate them. However, the author was blown away by Quaid's performance.

"I can't fathom that any of them could have been superior to Dennis Quaid," he remarked. "I am truly in awe of how he portrayed Reagan - the tone of voice, the facial expressions, the intensity, the zeal. The biggest challenge was finding an actor who could embody Reagan without resembling a caricature of him."

According to the high audience score, a majority of moviegoers concurred with Kengor's evaluation.

Despite their calls for unity, many liberals do not want movies that promote unity.

He stated, "Thus, we present them with a highly optimistic film on unity, as per their stated desire."

"They hate it, they hate it. They call it a hagiography, a movie about a saint. Well, it has a happy ending. We won the Cold War. We didn't have nuclear war," he said. "So a lot of the critics in those very low Rotten Tomatoes reviews, they just seem incredulous at the very idea that there was a time in America like this."

Planet Chronicle Digital's Hannah Lambert contributed to this report.