"I'm saying that when the President does it, it is *not* illegal"

Rating: 6/10 (16 March 2009)

In 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned for suspicion of his involvement with Watergate. Soon after, T.V. personality David Frost decides, seemingly out of thin air, that he would like to interview the ex-president. It goes without saying that things get interesting, or at least I hoped they would. Ron Howard may not be the most celebrated director currently working today, but he does deserve some credit for flatteringly capturing this project. Give him something like 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas', you know he'll f_ck that up. Give him 'Frost/Nixon' and he'll fit right in.
Most of the actors here did a fine job. Michael Sheen was alright as David Frost. Nothing exceptional, but serviceable. The supporting cast was all very good as well, with Kevin Bacon (stepping out of the spotlight for a little), Toby Jones, and Sam Rockwell. Frank Langella I did have a problem with, however. Maybe it's just me, but his performance as Nixon appeared forced. It wasn't very convincing at all and the film suffered for it.
'Frost/Nixon' does take its good old time getting to the interviews, which are indeed the highlight of this film. We spend almost an hour of plot and character development before anything of interest happens. At first, Nixon rambles and wastes time (like I do with these reviews). But it's when Frost fights back when things really get interesting. But by that time, I don't expect many people will care anymore. I barely did.
Like Nixon starting the interview, 'Frost/Nixon' spends way too much time on useless information that means nothing to the film as a whole. Perhaps, a little more time spent with the tenser parts of the interviews and less exposition would have benefited this film a great deal. There is a certain level of enjoyment to be found in 'Frost/Nixon', just not nearly enough for a recommendation. As it stands, the film spent too much time leading up to the interviews that when we finally got there, it was too little too late. There's just nothing special here. The directing is plain, the actors seem rather bored to be honest, and the script just appears more interested the journey rather than the destination.