All the President's Men - 4 stars

All the President's Men is the story of the Washington Post reporters, Woodward & Bernstein, who uncover the Watergate scandal. I have the hardest time understanding history. It's taught to us in school as names, places, and dates, which I can't memorize to save my life. Ask my friend Sharee and she will tell you that she aced history by studying with me because he had to drill repeatedly and I still barely passed. Movies about history, on the other hand, are something that I can understand. Put it into a story, with characters that relate to each other in a context, and I can get that.

This is a very well told story. Starring Dustin Hoffman, who can do no wrong, and Robert Redford, who is so likable that you will watch him play himself in any film, the two leads have wonderful chemistry together. It's also fun to see a vibrant Jason Robards, who started his acting career in 1946 and died in 2000.

As an aside, Robards was wonderful in his second to last film, Magnolia. Magnolia is 3 hours long, but worth every minute. And, you get to see Tom Cruise ACT in a supporting role. Shocking.

Anyway, All the President's Men does a great job of showing what it was like for the reporters to follow their instincts while under tremendous pressure to back down. It's life affirming and wonderfully nuanced. I especially enjoyed Robards yelling "Woodstein!" when he was angry at Woodward and Bernstein. Another likable moment that repeats throughout the film is watching the 2 actors stand next to each other and play off each other. Redford looks 7 feet tall next to Hoffman.