Although Justin Louis has a lean and hungry look that’s altogether missing from the man he impersonates, I suppose that somewhere inside the peacock puffiness of the Masterbuilder there’s a love-starved little boy. Certainly this TV movie, based on Gwenda Blair’s two books about Donald Trump, is powered by Freudian batteries. The old pun “Edifice Complex” perfectly applies. In order to prove himself to his difficult father (Ron McLarty), The Donald had to supersede The Fred. That meant not only the latest in blonde models (Katheryn Winnick as Ivana, Jennifer Baxter as Marla) and mixed-media overexposure, but Manhattan instead of Queens. No surprises here, but you may wonder how there could have been enough room in New York for both Ozymandias and Ed Koch (Richard Portnow). And also wish that megalomaniacs hadn’t grown up playing with blocks, so we wouldn’t be stuck with vulgarities like Trump Tower.

ABC
May 24, 9 to 11 P.M.

Related:

• Archive: “Television”
• Articles by John Leonard
• Table of Contents: May 30, 2005 issue of New York | Subscribe!