Reign Over Me

Starring: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows

Directed by: Mike Binder

RS: 1.5of 4 Stars Average User Rating: 3of 4 Stars

2007 Sony Pictures All Movies

No way does Adam Sandler deserve to be penalized for dumping comedy to take on a dramatic role. For my money, he worked the territory with distinction in Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love. But as Charlie Fineman, a Manhattan dentist who lost his wife and two children when their jet crashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11, Sandler is stuck in a movie that won't come unstuck. Writer-director Mike Binder wrote the fictional script on spec for Tom Cruise, who turned it down. Veering between sentimentality and exploitation with a few misguided stops at raunchy sex farce, Reign Over Me never finds a tone to suit its purpose. There's little doubt that Binder feels compassion for Charlie, who has stopped practicing dentistry and basically stopped living, except in denial. Sandler portrays him as a regressed adolescent, an imprudent choice given the actor's penchant for comic turns on the same character type in movies from Billy Madison to Click. With a mop of curly hair that evokes the Three Stooges and a stammering manner that suggests disability instead of trauma, Sandler closes us off from the mature husband and father Charlie was reported to be. Charlie holes up in his apartment, playing guitar and the Shadow of the Colossus video game, emerging only to head downtown on his scooter to jam at local clubs. Cinematographer Russ T. Alsobrook, shooting digitally, gives an impossibly romantic sheen to the scenes of Charlie scooting through nighttime Manhattan on streets that are impossibly unencumbered by traffic.

The improbability pileup hits maximum alert when the reclusive Charlie literally bumps into Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle), his roommate at dental school. Ah, we in the audience whisper, a catalyst for change. Alan is inspired to help his friend, no matter how much Charlie doesn't want help. Cheadle's role is a plot function, nothing more, saddling a fine actor with a potpourri of conflicting clichŽs. Get this: Alan's own problems include a nagging wife (Jada Pinkett Smith) he keeps at a distance and a patient (gorgeous Saffron Burrows) who keeps trying to give him blow jobs at the office. Binder sees all these characters as walking wounded, saving his needling wit for the parents (Robert Klein and Melinda Dillon) of Charlie's dead wife. They want Charlie committed so they can grab the 9/11 insurance settlement.

Talk about biting off more than any reasonable movie would dare to chew. Binder's pushy style irritated many viewers of HBO's short-lived The Mind of the Married Man. But he did an outstanding job of dramatizing the explosion of repressed rage in 2005's The Upside of Anger with a sparring Joan Allen and Kevin Costner. Reign Over Me (the title is derived from the Who song "Love, Reign O'er Me") doesn't know from boundaries. It overdoes everything, from Charlie repeating "You're too young" to his improb-able shrink (Liv Tyler) to a risible courtroom scene, with Donald Sutherland as a judge deserving of his own loony bin. Binder himself shows up as a crass lawyer with an unexpected touch of class.

Class is otherwise absent from the rest of the proceedings. Sandler gives his all to Charlie's tear-jerking meltdown in the waiting room of his shrink's office. It's the "big" moment when Charlie tells Alan what he felt when he heard about his family. It's also his chance to bring them to life again through his thoughts and memories. The scene demands subtlety, but Binder shoots it full-on like the clips they show at the Oscars that scream, "Watch me -- I'm acting!" You leave Reign Over Me feeling as if you've been crushed by an anvil.

PETER TRAVERS

(Posted: Mar 21, 2007)

Your Turn

Give us your review of
Reign Over Me

Review 1 of 11

4of 4 Stars

This movie was actually phenomenal. It had some of the best
acting that I have ever seen along with a great story line.
Adam Sandler fit the role perfectly, and obviously acted with
passion. I'm usually not one who likes dramas or anything like
that, but "Reign Over Me" was one of the best movies I have
ever had the priviledge to see. I don't think that I am the only
one who feels this way. Also, the version of "Love, Reign O'er
Me" played in the movie was the Pearl Jam version, not The
Who. I think your review on "Reign Over Me" has lost a lot of
its credibility.

Nov 3, 2007 19:50:55

Review 2 of 11

Not Rated

Reign over me is beautiful in a sence that people can not really see. The whole aspect of the movie is dramatic and tearful. It shows compasion for past love ones, and a chance to open up and free yourself from all the consumption of pain.Think of all the people that lost loved ones in the 9/ll incident. I mean there are really people out there life that, struggling and in pain everyday. This movie captures the reality of that. Adam Sandler has a beautiful soul and it is very well acted. It makes you think how precious it is to have family and people that love you. Like the movie Charlie (adam Sandler) has a old friend and his friend helps him through his loss. Well, all I got to say is open up America, Canada and watch this soulful lost movie. You won't be disapointed.

Oct 25, 2007 22:25:33

Review 3 of 11

3of 4 Stars

sandler is perfect for the role of someone hidden in their past to avoid present hurts.
well done.

Apr 5, 2007 08:48:04

Review 4 of 11

3of 4 Stars

This movie was good, but far from a masterpiece. There were several times during the movie that I wished little things were different, as pointed out in Travers' review, e.g., Liv Tyler as the Psychiatrist (terrible), not realistic court room proceedings (silly), empty night time streets in NYC (please).

However, this movie is an emotional roller coaster if you actually pay attention. If you allow yourself to "get into it", I beleive MOST people will enjoy their two hours and not feel they wasted the cost of the tickets. Compared to the crapola that is routinely brought out as "Oscar-worthy", this movie ranks above many.

My opinion is this movie was definitely worth seeing. I suggest to Pete Travers that he actually watch the whole thing. I can live with people who have a different opinion. "Good" is a relative term to each person.

But, how could Travers possibly ever have any credibility again when he misses so many "facts" about this movie?? Lost his wife and TWO children? (three). Binder a lawyer? (accountant, former best friend of Charlie). Sandler a guitarist? (drummer). The in-laws after the 9/11 money?(What???) Outrageous that Trvers actually pretends to have watched this movie!!

Not matter what you say in your defense Travers, (I'm sure you will never respond), I now wonder how many other movies you haven't actually watched, yet reviewed.

Note to Rolling Stone editor: I realize that Movie Reviewer must be a terribly stressful, high-pressure job. You might want to give this poor guy early retirment and hire a CREDIBLE reviewer who actually watches the movie. Until then, I'll stick to the local newspaper.

Apr 1, 2007 09:01:08

Review 5 of 11

3of 4 Stars

I really just want to respond to Peter Travers review of this film to ask if he even saw it. He states that Adam Sandler plays guitar in this fil, which he does in real life and pretends to do in this film, but in the film Charlie is a drummer, not a guitar player. He further says that Sandler's in-laws are after the 9-11 insurance money, and this is NEVER inferred, as they say many times that they just want to see him get well and to be his family. They are in no way shape or form portrayed as being after the money. Lastly, he says that Mike Binder shows up as a lawyer. He is an accountant, and Charlie Fineman's former best friend. So, Mr. Traver's, tell me....did you even see this movie? Were you too stoned to follow the "complex" plot? Or are you just so anti anything pro-America that you immediately refuse to give this film a chance???

Mar 30, 2007 05:55:09

Review 6 of 11

3of 4 Stars

i feel like your review was wrong. I'm not going to come out and say that this movie was extremely smart or life changing, but it did what it was meant to do. it was effective and evoked a great deal of emotion from me and all the people around me. I think Sandler again showed that he can make you forget that he was ever in another movie. He did it with punch drunk love, he makes you lose track of the billy madisons and the happy gilmores. I know everyone is sick of 9/11, but i left that movie wanting to tell everyone that i care for exactly how i felt about them before it was too late, and i think that is a very powerful outcome. I'm someone who is uncomfortable with expressing emotion, but i wanted to call everyone i loved and tell them just that. A movie that does that is important on some level and deserves more respect that you are giving it. I hate bad movies just as much as anyone, but this is not one of them. The worst thing you can do is listen to the critic's opinion of this movie. It's worth seeing and I will stand by that and tell anyone who wants to listen. Oh, and I can't imagine you will find another person who watched this movie who gave a shit about the fact that the streets were empty while he was riding his scooter, it makes you sound like you went into the movie begging to find things you didn't like about it.

Mar 26, 2007 16:55:26

Review 7 of 11

4of 4 Stars

I'm never, ever one to pay any mind to any type of critic when it comes to film or music, and I usually don't care enough to bother to contribute my own two-cents... but for this, I make an acception.

When I saw this movie last night at the cinema with my Grandfather, the first adjective that came to mind when the end-credits rolled was, "powerful." The next morning I couldn't believe that people were telling me, "it did shitty with the critics." When I read about Reign on Me and heard it was about 9/11, I admit I was a little hesitant, but I'm a big fan of seeing dogs walk on their hind-legs (Sandler in a drama) - so the tickets were perchased.

First off, the fact that it has to do with 9/11 has little or nothing to do with the actual plot, the whole point is that Sandler's family fell victim to a tragic, heart-wrenching accident. Using 9/11 on Binder's part, was just a (while I do like Binder...) lazy attempt at creating more sentiment, though hardly anything to bitch about. We have Farenheit, we can live with that for the bitter truth in film. And it's not at all that the first thing said in the movie is, "OMGZ 9/11 TEARSTEARS!" It's subtle, contrary to what people are saying. We don't actually find out the plane-crash referred to throughout all the movie is a 9/11 crash until about an hour or so in - the date is near irrelevant.
And the complaints that it's overracted? Bollocks! (Though I am a fan of black and white film, so maybe I'm biased...) Though the parenthesis being said, how would you react if you lost all of your loved ones? And in such context? No wonder Sandler looks like Einstein (yes, he is ill in this film! Unstable and ill! How is otherwise even brought into the equation?)! In the words of the judge, "this man is going through something very profound." Well, duh. It's no wonder he's shut down, look what's happen to him. And as far as the sub-text, "we're right and your wrong" goes, to make you feel offended - that's a good film. Just because it may offend you personally doesn't make it bad, we all liked Farenheit because it offended our ass-backwards government, and we liked that. Now that it's us, we do an American default and contradict. Tisk, tisk, people.

The acting is superb. The humour is there, you just have to look for it. The supporting roles are shit because they're supposed to be - we're not supposed to feel fondly of the characters against the film's heroins. Duh, duh, duh! And even to act shittily for the plot of a film, is good acting. An actor is an actor is an actor. And if you're still complaining about a lack of reality - why do we go see films in the first place? - Why not just carry around a cam-corder with us? Films are made for unrealism.

The movie is profound. Sandler is great, as always. And I'm always curious as to what Cheadle's accent is gonna be like (he always hits the nail on the head, good job Don). It's random, it's funny, and if anything! - it's realer than most things on film because it's pure mad.

And, awesome soundtrack. Classic rock, ftw.

But hey, we were due for a cult classic.

Mar 25, 2007 15:31:21

Review 8 of 11

4of 4 Stars

Sorry, Peter, but I too disagree with your review of this movie. Do you remember where you were when the towers were hit? Did you have family or friends in the planes? Do you have any empathy for the human spirit?
I think Adam Sandler portrayed his character with sincerity, probability and believe-ability.....(what's it really like to have your entire family wiped out by terrorists?) And Don Cheadle was fantastic as the friend who cared enough to help. Granted, the ending was a bit off the mark and some of the supporting roles may have seemed a bit weak, but the bottom line is really the essence of the movie: these ordinary people were trying to help another ordinary person who had gone off the deep end after losing the people who were his life. Peter, please try to use a little more heart in your next review of a movie like this one that clearly shows how humans are affected emotionally by death and destruction. Thumbs up to Adam, Don and the cast! More movies like this one, please....

Mar 25, 2007 09:24:09

Previous Next