Will Ferrell's plans to portray the late President Ronald Reagan in a dark comedy about his battle with Alzheimer's "looks like a horrific idea from the start," MSNBC's Joe Scarborough said Friday.
"I have a mom with dementia. It's a horrifying process over a long period of time, and I can't imagine somebody thinks this is within bounds," the
"Morning Joe" host said, while discussing the movie with NBC's Willie Geist. "I can't believe he's not going to try to get away from this thing."
Scarborough and Geist agreed that they are "huge" Ferrell fans, but Geist also said he doubts Hollywood would do a movie about a Democrat with Alzheimer's.
"I have a feeling Will may rethink this one before it's made," Geist said.
According to
Variety, "Reagan" begins at the outset of the president's second term and has him beginning to fall into dementia. An intern is given the job of convincing the former actor that he is actually playing the role of president for a movie.
Reagan's family has come out against the project, with son Michael tweeting that those involved with the project should be ashamed:
Daughter Patti Davis also posted an
open letter to The Daily Beast protesting the project, writing that "Alzheimer's steals what is most precious to a human being."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.