Ryan Reynolds faced backlash Thursday after the “Deadpool” star called the 1980s “brutal” and a “f—ing mess” while promoting his Cold-War era movie “Mayday” at its New York premiere, prompting critics to question his characterization of the decade and the contrast with his nostalgia-driven new film.
Reynolds said modern nostalgia can obscure the darker realities of distinct periods in history, including the decade depicted in his latest movie.
“When you get far enough away from a time period that’s quite distinct, there’s always a lovely feeling associated with it, almost like you pave over all the trauma with puppy dogs and ice cream,” Reynolds said in an interview with Variety. “The 80s was a brutal, brutal time for people. It was a f—ing mess and people forget that.”
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Christian Toto, an award-winning film critic and founder of Hollywood in Toto, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that Reynolds’ comments were especially striking because “Mayday” itself embraces the era Reynolds criticized.
“His ’80s comments are so stunning. First, he was living in Canada during the 1980s and was pretty young at the time — he’s 49 now, meaning in 1986 he was just 9 years of age,” he said. “Much more importantly, his new movie ‘Mayday’ is a love letter to the 1980s. It doesn’t describe the decade as perfect, but it’s a perfectly sweet nostalgia blast atop a buddy comedy template. Why he would trash the decade, ignoring its joyous spirit and all-American vibe, is a mystery.”
“Ryan Reynolds is one of the best marketers in Hollywood. And he happens to be an A-list actor, too. His business savvy is unusual, and he personally helped make the ‘Deadpool’ series a smash via a series of clever comic shorts. He’s funny and self-deprecating, too, which never hurts,” he added.
Lisa Cusack, president of the Don’t L.A. My Burbank PAC and a Los Angeles GOP delegate, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that Reynolds’ criticism overlooked what she viewed as the economic and cultural gains of the Reagan-era 1980s.
“Setting aside the fact that anyone could hate on the decade that produced ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘Indiana Jones’, the ‘80s left behind the high inflation and social unrest of the ’70s,” she said. “The GDP grew and poverty rates declined. Everyone wanted to move to California and Hollywood was thriving. We don’t want to go back, but the Reagan ’80s is actually a pretty good example of how there’s always a way to leave bad ideas behind and make positive progress.”
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Television personality Spencer Pratt, who has publicly advocated for bringing film and television production jobs back to the United States, responded to Reynolds by tying the comments to Hollywood’s relationship with American audiences.
“Here I am trying to bring back American film jobs, and then these tools keep saying stupid crap like this and making every normal American hate them. Hollywood is seriously its own worst enemy. Just stick to the Cricket wireless ads, dude,” Pratt said on X.
Fox News Digital reported this week that the U.S. entertainment industry has lost 49,000 jobs since 2022, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, as productions increasingly shifted to competing states and overseas locations. In Los Angeles, where Pratt recently ran for mayor, scripted television production in the region was down nearly 30% from 2019 and more than 80 production-service businesses had closed since 2022 amid reduced production and industry strikes.
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Dan Bongino also pushed back on Reynolds’ description of the decade, pointing to the 1980 “Miracle on Ice,” the fall of the Berlin Wall, economic growth under former President Ronald Reagan and the era’s popular culture.
“This dude doesn’t know jack s— about the 1980s in America — and Jack left town. I was a teenager when the ’80s ended, and it was an INCREDIBLE time to be alive. No social-media rage farming,” Bongino said on X. “The Miracle on Ice kicked off the decade, and the Berlin Wall and communism came crashing down at the end. Reagan putting up monster GDP growth numbers. Pre-woke MTV. ‘Indiana Jones’.”
“No men in women’s bathrooms. And much, much more. The ’80s TORE IT UP. Friends don’t let friends fall for Hollywood propaganda. God bless America—and God bless the ’80s!” he added.
