film: review

> REIGN OVER ME (2007)
Let in the unexpected.

By John C. Lyons
Film Critic

Directed by: Mike Binder

Written by: Mike Binder

Starring: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle

Genre: Drama

Our Rating: 8/10

In high school I watched Saturday Night Live and enjoyed the crop of movies featuring the cast’s standouts in those years: Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, David Spade, Mike Myers, Norm Macdonald, etc. Nowadays Myers and Sandler are really the only two who’ve had lasting success after the show. Sandler really won me over in his first starring roles Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore, but shortly after The Wedding Singer I began to lose interest in his movies, finding Little Nicky and Mr. Deeds to be pretty terrible. He was doing the same act he always was, but had I outgrown him? Was it time for the now 40 year old actor to branch out a bit? Well, thankfully Sandler went the Jim Carrey route with Punch Drunk Love (great) and Spanglish (good) and found that he could work in more dramatic material that allowed him to bring his comic side in for icing. While he still dips into the silly pool as an actor and producer, I’ve pretty much lost interest in those gimmick movies (Click) completely now, it’s these dramatic gems that have the potential to extend his longevity. This brings us to Reign Over Me.

Charlie Fineman would be a tough character for anyone to play and I have trouble thinking of other actors that could pull off his personality swings (he often goes through several in a single scene) without coming off unrealistic. It turns out that those behind the movie nailed it perfectly by casting Adam Sandler. After tragedy takes his wife and children from him, Charlie quits his job and spends every day passing the time away in videogames, music, and riding his scooter around New York, living in a self-imposed world of isolation from everything and everyone he once knew. Enter Alan Johnson (played well, as always, by Don Cheadle) Charlie’s old college roommate, who had lost touch with Charlie years ago. At first Charlie doesn’t recognize Alan, his name or his stories (showing us a bit of just how far Charlie has closed off his memories) but slowly he allows him into his world and with it begins to come unraveled and break down. Through Charlie, Alan discovers some things that he needs to change in his “perfect” life as well and the two go through good and bad together throughout the course of the film.

Reign Over Me is not a feel good movie or a comedy, it’s a powerful drama that has other elements nicely peppered in. Charlie’s explosive temper and deep sadness is oftentimes very hard to watch and one scene in particular, played brilliantly by the two leads, had me on the brink of tears. In the end the movie is an interesting take on the effect a great tragedy can have on a surviving family member and focusing on that person as opposed to the event itself, which is the route usually taken. Music plays a big role in the film and the choices here are appropriate and powerful (I love the Pearl Jam cover over the end credits!). The movie isn’t perfect, and, at times it seems a bit too coincidental in order to connect all the pieces, but nothing was distracting enough to pull me out of these characters' lives. If you’re willing to give Sandler a chance in something other than toilet humor, this would be a good place to start.

I saw this film at Cinemark’s Tinseltown 17 Theatres on Peach Street in Erie, PA. Click for showtimes.

related links:
Reign Over Me - official site

MPAA rating: R
for language and some sexual references

length: 124 minutes