Moviegoers Quick to Kick ‘Nixon’ Around : Cinema: Those who saw opening-day shows in the 37th president’s home county criticize everything from its dim lighting to running time.

IRVINE — Siskel and Ebert may have given Oliver Stone’s new picture “Nixon” two thumbs up, but Nixon’s home county sure didn’t.

If comments from opening-day moviegoers Wednesday are any indication, the film biography of the 37th president will get about as much support in Orange County as George McGovern did in 1972.

“I’m appalled,” said Tom Debalski, 39, an Irvine resident who has respected some of the controversial director’s previous work. “I think it’s a travesty to the Nixon family. It’s horrible to lambaste someone when they can’t even answer.”

Victor Mouleart, 64, of Costa Mesa, a semi-retired insurance salesman who voted for the Yorba Linda native, agreed.

“I can understand why his family is upset,” he said, referring to contentions by Nixon family members this week that the film was designed maliciously to “defame and degrade President and Mrs. Nixon’s memories in the mind of the American public.”

“It shows [Nixon] in such a bad light,” said Mouleart, who saw the movie at Edwards South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. “I mean, it’s such a black movie. He couldn’t possibly have been that bad.”

The condemnation wasn’t universal, however. Harry Young, 60, of Laguna Beach, who had campaigned door-to-door for Nixon in presidential campaigns, said he was pleasantly surprised by the Hollywood’s first major portrait of Nixon.

“I thought it was very good,” said Young, who saw the noontime show at the Irvine Entertainment Center. “I thought it was pretty fair. . . . I don’t know, maybe there were some made up things like his drinking and taking pills. Otherwise, it kept me intrigued the whole time.”

Unless he was part of a silent majority, though, Young definitely seemed to be in the minority opening day. “Nixon” filmgoers in Orange County criticized everything from its dim lighting to its foul language.

Of particular disdain was its running time of more than three hours.

“If I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep last night, I might not have made it through,” said Bob Hammer, a 31-year-old software consultant from Laguna Beach.

Like many audience members at the Irvine theater’s noontime show Wednesday, Hammer’s attention to an on-screen argument between Nixon and Henry Kissinger about resigning was diverted by a gentleman loudly snoring near the back of the theater. The racket prompted one nearby audience member to wake the slumberer by dropping an empty soda cup at his feet.

But it didn’t work for long. By the time Nixon and his wife, Pat, lamented the loss of the presidency, the man was snoozing again.

“They could have easily cut an hour from the film,” Hammer added.

In spite of the largely negative reaction, most viewers praised Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins’ portrayal of the former president.

“Hopkins did a fantastic job. He really did,” said Debalski, an English teacher at Capistrano Valley Christian School, who likened the film’s dark atmosphere to Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.”

But one thing troubled Debalski.

“I thought they made Nixon look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame,” he said. “They made him look like a mutant.”

Conversely, filmgoers were generally pleased with the portrayal of Patricia Nixon by actress Joan Allen. The film depicts her as a woman devoted to her family and key to her husband’s political success.

“Pat always was so quiet, standing behind Nixon, like a wallflower or something,” said Sally Hagen, 36, of Irvine, who nevertheless gave the film a thumbs down. “It was good to see a strong woman character.”

Viewers, even those who applauded the film, were shocked by the amount of profanity.

“I’m sure there was cussing going on,” said Young, who regards Stone as a talented but heavy-handed filmmaker. “But I don’t think it was that bad.”

“Nixon” is pitted against a host of new holiday films in what is traditionally a fiercely competitive time at the box office. Clayton Mills, 80, convinced his wife, Lois, to overlook other movie options Wednesday. The Mills, here from Salt Lake City to visit their daughter in Laguna Beach, toured the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace earlier this week and wanted to see how the movie would compare.

“I want to see how close it comes to the history,” Clayton Mills said.

Not very close. After the film, his wife did the talking.

“It was a very depressing movie,” said Lois Mills, 75, who voted for Kennedy instead of Nixon in 1960. “There had to be a good side to him. I think he was a better person than that.”

She added, “If I would have had my choice, we would have been at ‘Sabrina.’ ”

* ELVIS’ AUDIENCE WITH NIXON

The king of rock ‘n’ roll met the president 25 years ago today. E1