Knee-jerk review: "Frost/Nixon"

1. We thought we'd like it more than we did.
2. It's solid, expertly crafted as all of Ron Howard's films invariably are.
3. But it's lacking something. In our brains, we know it's a good movie. Smartly written, sharply acted, all that. But in our guts, we didn't connect.
4. When it was all over, you may find yourself just sort of shrugging.
5. That said, Frank Langella is most impressive as Nixon, doing what many would find impossible: making our 37th president seem likable and even somewhat sympathetic as a tragic, lonely figure full of regret and sadness for what might have been. He's at the top of his game, no question.
6. The highlight may be the drunken late-night phone call Nixon makes to David Frost. This phone call probably didn't even happen. But by the end of it, you realize that Nixon's angry tirade is unexpectedly giving Frost the pep talk he so desperately needed. It also clearly lays out for the climax just what these two men have at stake. That's good writing, people. Screenwriter Peter Morgan knows what he's doing.
7. Rebecca Hall? Hottie.
8. Los Angeles residents surely get a kick of seeing local sights circa the 1970s, like the Beverly Hills Hilton and the Cineramadome.
9. Supposedly, this and the overrated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are Oscar front-runners. We cannot support nor endorse such a thing. The Dark Knight, which we also find overrated, is a far superior movie to both.

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