Rob Reiner. Reiner has directed 22 films overall but it is his six films (including his big screen debut after a few tv movies) from This is Spinal Tap in 1984 to A Few Good in 1992 that he will be remembered for. It is all about the filmography here—these are commercial hits, good comedies, and some of the best Hollywood films made during this stretch. There’s no discernible style, and he could shape-shift and do any genre (they were all funny—but he could do a Stephen King thriller to broad comedy to an Aaron Sorkin-penned legal drama).
There are a few times when Reiner has tried to go beyond just making a likable, enjoyable film (an admirable enough feat- I’m not knocking it) and transcend into cinema art. Most of those moments are in When Harry Met Sally
Best film: When Harry Met Sally. There are a few times when Reiner has tried to go beyond just making a likable, enjoyable film (an admirable enough feat- I’m not knocking it) and transcend into cinema art. Most of those moments are in When Harry Met Sally (and a few in Stand by Me) and there is no denying the achievement- even if Reiner and the film owe a big debt of gratitude to Woody Allen- specifically Annie Hall.
a gorgeous shot- not just because of the photograph (which is sublime) but tying to the narrative- Harry’s isolation and loneliness as a small figure on a massive high-rise– this is strong visual cinema
from When Harry Met Sally— Reiner’s greatest work
total archiveable films: 6
top 100 films: 0
top 500 films: 0
top 100 films of the decade: 0
most overrated: There’s a lot here. Reiner has four films in the TSPDT consensus top 1000. Four… that’s more than Sirk (3), Almodovar (3), Jarmusch (3) and Spike Lee (1—ugh). The worst offender is his top-rated film- This is Spinal Tap which lands at #286 of all-time. I think a lot of people list their “favorite” movies and often include a comedy (I like comedies and love to laugh as much as anyone and this is a funny movie) and this falls on the list or when they do their “best of” list they try to be democratic and include a broad comedy (over other, superior, films) as if there are two options: drama and comedy, and thinking “I can at least dedicate one spot on my list to a pure laugh-er and not be overly stuffy.” And I like Spinal Tab- Reiner, yet again, smartly, borrows from Woody’s Zelig (the mockumentary the year before) and the laughs never stop. But #286???…well… that’s rarefied air when it comes to the greatest films of all-time.
most underrated : A Few Good Men
- The film’s strengths reside in Aaron Sorkin’s scotching screenplay (it’s based on his play) and the actors who are more than up for the challenge—especially Jack and Cruise – two of the biggest stars of the second half of the 20th century and yes- two of the best actors during that stretch as well
- there’s an intelligent battle of two versions of masculinity put on here by Cruise and Nicholson
- The film is impossible to imagine without the 4 scenes with Oscar nominee for supporting actor Jack Nicholson—he’s more than scene stealing here- he’s movie-stealing and gets the best lines and knocks them out of park. It’s also extremely ironic and satisfying to see Jack, historically anti-establishment (this is Easy Rider after all), play THE establishment here.
- Cruise is superb as well (there’s a very broad edges in the screenplay that let him down like the “galactically stupid” line/rant)- cocky and intelligent—the supporting cast beyond the two leads is superb—it is an achievement for Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, and JT Walsh amongst others
- Sorkin wasn’t nominated for this somehow—unbelievable
- Shot by Robert Richardson— wonderful opening with the routine of the marines title sequences
- Predictable but entertaining and well executed
The film is impossible to imagine without the 4 scenes with Oscar nominee for supporting actor Jack Nicholson—he’s more than scene stealing here- he’s movie-stealing and gets the best lines and knocks them out of park
gem I want to spotlight : . Stand By Me. It is the nostalgia—but it is more than that- it is the perfectly curated soundtrack and Richard Dreyfuss’ magnificent voice-over—just one of my favorite voice-overs. It is a film I find myself going back to often.
It is the nostalgia—but it is more than that- it is the perfectly curated soundtrack and Richard Dreyfuss’ magnificent voice-over—just one of my favorite voice-overs. It is a film I find myself going back to often.
stylistic innovations/traits:
- Borrows from Woody—I’m not sure we have When Harry Met Sally and This is Spinal Tap without Woody Allen
Borrows from Woody—I’m not sure we have When Harry Met Sally and This is Spinal Tap without Woody Allen
- Reiner was a crowd-pleaser, a box office king, and crossed genres very well- working in legal dramas, romantic comedies, thriller/horror, and fantasy
Reiner was a crowd-pleaser, a box office king, and crossed genres very well- working in legal dramas, romantic comedies, thriller/horror, and fantasy
- Adaptations of the work of Stephen King (Stand By Me, Misery)
a great choice to go low-angle POV here in Misery
Adaptations of the work of Stephen King (Stand By Me, Misery)
- A pretty invisible style- without already knowing- if you had told me he directed any of the films of Ron Howard, City Slickers, or Sleepless in Seattle– I’d have guessed—“sure”
top 10
- When Harry Met Sally
- A Few Good Men
- Stand By Me
- Misery
- The Princess Bride
- This is Spinal Tap
By year and grades
| 1984- This is Spinal Tap | R |
| 1986- Stand By Me | R/HR |
| 1987- The Princess Bride | R |
| 1989- When Harry Met Sally | HR |
| 1990- Misery | R |
| 1992- A Few Good Men | R/HR |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
What a shocking piece of news. Really tragic. All I know him from is the director of The Princess Bride, which is as lovely as a movie can be.
@K- RIP. Misery is a very efficient thriller.
He was mocked pretty brutally by South Park, and took it on the chin, which speaks well of him.
RIP Rob Reiner and his wife – seems like some tragedy has happened.
@Harry- shocking I saw yesterday
@Drake – Here are my notes from my most recent viewing of Stand By Me (1986)
It’s really one of cinema’s finest voiceovers. Not just because of Richard Dreyfuss’s obvious talents (there really isn’t much funnier to me than “chopper sic’ balls”), but really because of the formal payoff at the end. We realize this whole time that not only did Geordie embrace his greatest gift (writing), which was a big question throughout the film, but the narration this whole time has been the novel that he went on to write. Brilliant. It’s not quite in the Apocalypse Now, Taxi Driver, etc tier for voiceovers, but it’s in the next one (I think I said the same thing about A Christmas Story)
Speaking of A Christmas Story, a thought I had this viewing (second viewing) was that tonally this and that film achieve the same thing – which is an essentially perfect balance between the sweet and cynical. Rose-colored nostalgia and dogged realism. I personally find very little in cinema more moving than the epilogue here “(I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?”) and this is the same film that has “chopper sic’ balls” and the pie-eating competition puke-fest
The choice to state Chris’ death upfront and then the very casual mention at the end of how he died… once again this is dogged cynicism. This is how it is, life goes on
Maybe a little surprising but this is very pictorial.
There’s a dozen+ wall-art quality shots… [https://imgur.com/a/nTRp9t]
I’d say probably over half of the great frames in this film come on the train tracks. Reiner really knows how to squeeze everything out of the photographic potential of it. It also gives us something to anchor onto geographically as we go on such a long journey
And atleast half of those great train track frames are these symmetrical shots of the boys walking on them (as you can see in the collage). Which gives the film some form to shot selections
You don’t need me to tell you how stacked and well curated the soundtrack is here either
Very firmly a Highly Recommended film for me. In the high-end range of that grade as well
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/446841594272555747/… missed this beauty in the collage too
My ranking of Reiner`s films that I`ve seen:
1. When Harry Met Sally… HR
2. Stand by Me HR
3. A Few Good Men R/HR
4. Misery R/HR
5. The Princess Bride R
6. The Bucket List awful
5 Best Performances
1. Bates- Misery
2. Caan- Misery
3. Ryan- When Harry Met Sally…
4. Patinkin- The Princess Bride
5. Nicholson- A Few Good Men
Nicholson Few Good Men only at 5 is curious.
@RujK- haha re: bucket list
[…] 241. Rob Reiner […]
Upon rewatch, Stand By Me is such an good little film. It improved for me after rewatching.
Which movies have great child performances in your opinion? Stand by Me would be up there in my opinion. The entire ensemble is very impressive.
I think part of why Reiner has become a bit overrated is how lucky he got with his screenwriters. Between William Goldman, Aaron Sorkin, and to a lesser extent the four co-writers in This is Spinal Tap, he worked with some truly talented people. I would argue that these writers put their own mark on these films more than Reiner himself.
@Declan- good point on Sorkin and Goldman- I hadn’t put that together
Doesn’t Tony Scott deserve to be in the top 250 directors list?True Romance(1993) is one of the best films of the 1990s.
No The American President(1995).Thought it was good.Boasts one of Michael Douglas best performances
@Hashan- close, I’ve seen it 2-3 times. But it is a “no” as far as the archives.