Michael Sheen not a patch on the Original

Rating: 6/10 (17 February 2009)

If I were David Frost I think I'd sue Ron Howard for gross misrepresentation. Michael Sheen may be a good actor, but the Frost that I remember from the 1960's (" That Was A Week That Was" etc) was a far more substantial and complex figure than that displayed by Sheen, who seems, like his name, just to be all shine and no substance ..I cant imagine someone as lacking in depth as the character portrayed by Sheen could have pulled off a media coup of this dimension -- especially given the local (i.e. American)competition. Frost may be a media "type" but it's difficult to believe that he would have achieved what he has by being a little boy lost -- which is the way he is portrayed here. Certainly the old Frost had oodles of quiet charm, but behind his facade you always sensed a bright and penetrating mind at work.. Alas none of this comes across in the film.
Neither does it help that the actor playing Nixon is far more weighty -- in both meanings of the word. He looks far heavier than the original who always came across as having a lean and hungry look, suitable to the Brutus-type of politico that he was.
This doesn't mean I think the film doesn't have its merits. But given the fact that it is dealing with 'recent' history it fails to compare with the original broadcasts, which were surely far more dramatic than this cover version.