MOVIE REVIEW: Reign Over Me

The term "bitch movie" is one that I claimed years ago. It is a term that applies only to men, but don't worry ladies, you can see it as the male equivalent to the “chick flick.” Every man knows what I am referring to when I say “bitch movie.” Every man has a few in his DVD collection. They are movies that no matter how many times you see them, they still make you cry (like a bitch. See what I did there?). For me these movies have been consistently the same: “Rocky,” “Rudy,” “Cocoon” and “Philadelphia.” The last one is almost a given since it stars Tom Hanks with some kind of problem (little known fact: it was stated as the 11th Commandment that any film starring Tom Hanks with AIDS, mental retardation or anything that doesn’t constitute being normal is a sad movie). After viewing Mike Bender’s new film, “Reign Over Me,” I am confident enough to add it to the list.

Before I get into the review, I should state that I am all for the comedian turning serious actor movement (Jim Carrey and Dane Cook are the exceptions, but that will be discussed in a future article). When Bill Murray did “Lost in Translation” and “Broken Flowers” I was pissed. Then I actually watched the movies and was taken back by how well he did in those roles. In this case, Adam Sandler had done “Punch Drunk Love” and “Spanglish,” both of which I loved. I could be getting ahead of myself here, but in my opinion, Adam Sandler should be remembered for this role long after he is gone.

“Reign Over Me” starts with Alan Johnson (played by Don Cheadle) and his family. Alan is a dentist who leads a very structured life. He feels stuck because he has no real friends, or hobbies for that matter. Then he reconnects with an old college roommate, Charlie Fineman, played by Sandler. Even though the two were good friends, Fineman remembers nothing about Johnson. The two have coffee together and Charlie slowly begins to remember. The two men are glad to have one another around and soon after seem to become the best of friends. Charlie is a bit off, however. Always remodeling his kitchen, keeps to himself, always has his headphones and never likes to talk about his past. Charlie’s wife and three daughters passed away six years earlier in one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. After that Charlie simply made himself forget that he even had friends or family. Alan does his best to talk to Charlie, but is often met with hostile results. From there it’s mainly Alan doing his best to get Charlie to open up, and for Charlie to trust in his friend.
I cannot say enough about the performances in this film. Don Cheadle is always good, but here he is top notch. Not as stand out as his role in “Hotel Rwanda,” but definitely up there. The real stand out is Sandler, who seems made for this role. After seeing him as Charlie Fineman, I do not think I could ever picture anyone else in his place. As I mentioned above, I believe Sandler should be remembered for this role. He was tremendous and I think it would be an injustice not to nominate this man when the time comes. In fact, I would even go as far as to say I wish Sandler would do more serious work.

The first half of the film always hints that things are not going to end well. There is so much underlying sadness, and you never see it coming. At one point I was afraid that the film might not be as sad as I had hoped, but I got ahead of myself. After Fineman opens up and begins to talk about his family, it is all downhill from there. Scene after scene of non-stop sadness and the film truly dumps it on you. You feel so horrible for Charlie Fineman. Every event after Fineman opens up is more depressing than the one before it until we culminate in a court scene where BJ Novak (from “The Office,” and after this role, a true asshole) taunts Fineman with pictures of his daughters and wife. This was almost too much to handle.
The soundtrack for “Reign Over Me” is the best in years. We have it all here. One of the best Springstein songs to date is in there, as well as two versions of “Love Reign O’er Me” by The Who and Pearl Jam.

I loved everything about this movie. Everything just seemed to click between everyone involved. This is the best film so far this year, and will definitely end up on my top ten list for 2007.