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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 14606
Released: October 9, 2007 |
| Our Price: $4.85 |
| Used Price: $1.15 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith and Liv Tyler star in this heart-rending story about Charlie Fineman (Sandler), who has slipped away from reality after the sudden loss of his wife and children. But Charlie’s life takes a turn for the better when he runs into his old college roommate Alan Johnson (Cheadle), whose life is torn between the demands of career and family. Their renewed friendship rekindles their long-forgotten bond, and both men emerge enriched and enlightened.
Description of Reign Over Me (Widescreen Edition):
One of the first films to examine the aftermath of post- 9/11 New York City, Reign Over Me shows how much even indirect contact with those who lost loved ones in the tragedy can greatly affect. Like rings of debris spiraling out from an explosion, Charlie Fineman's (Adam Sandler) loss also devastates his in-laws, who he refuses to speak to, and ex-college roommate, Alan Johnson. Reign Over Me stars Johnson, a successful dentist with a gorgeous wife, Janeane (Jada Pinkett Smith) and two kids, who finds Charlie reverted back into a teenage wasteland, unable to face his unbearable sadness. Sandler as Charlie looks like Bob Dylan and acts like Dustin Hoffman in his great dramatic performance. Listening to The Who and The Boss through headphones, playing video games, and continually remodeling his kitchen, Fineman's escapism disturbs Johnson, who, in turn, feels squelched by his stiflingly normal lifestyle. As the two reacquaint, Johnson is the only person who can help save Fineman from self-obliteration. The story analyzes Post Traumatic Stress with some accuracy, though excess sentimentality undermines emotional scenes. Survivor's guilt, assessing mental illness, and absolute incapacitation due to grief are all topics covered within the bounds of the enduring friendship forged between these two men. Ultimately, Reign Over Me's message is one of compassion, as a reminder to treat victims of loss with patience and care. But interestingly, it also pays heed to smaller human tribulations, which are obstacles to healing when left untreated. --Trinie Dalton
Stills from Reign Over Me (click for larger image)
Reign Over Me (Widescreen Edition) Reviews:
What a great film 
2009-10-14 - This movie was awesome. Great story about friendship! You need to at least rent this baby, it's worth the time.
Everyone processes loss differently
2009-09-30 - Some people erect altars to the people who're gone. Others carry those memories in their hearts and see their lost ones in faces on the street, flowers, butterflies. Everyone mourns differently and takes their own time to process those feelings. This film is a tale about deep mourning and learning to respect differences in how people react to shock and tragedy.
"Reign on Me" is a tale of loss and how different people deal with it. Charlie Fineman (Sandler) lost his wife and three daughters on 9/11. His in-laws lost their only child and their three grandchildren.
And that loss still haunts Dr. Alan Johnson (Cheadle) several years later. When he sees a long-haired Charlie on the street, he calls out to his old college room-mate and tries to help. Initially, Charlie doesn't even remember Johnson, but he repeats the college memories like a mantra holding on to one sane part of his life. Johnson's 'safe' you see, he never knew Charlie when he had a family and cannot remind him of his loss and that's how he manages to get in.
But the story's not just about Charlie. Alan Johnson has problems of his own. He won't admit them initially, but he stops and talks to the building shrink every day. He loves being a dentist, but he is tiring of putting veneers in people's mouths. In the end, by reaching out to help a friend, Johnson finds himself and is able to begin healing his own pain.
"Reign on Me" is the finest performance of both Cheadle and Sandler's careers. It's not just a film but an opportunity to explore your own life and grief via the screen. This is definitely a film I would recommend to people who've lost someone they care about when they're ready to watch.
Rebecca Kyle, September 2009
A perfect bummer of a movie 
2009-09-29 - Now, who would watch this, really? A former dentist whose family was killed on 9/11 suffers from PTS while Don Cheadle tries to snap him out of it for two hours. There are no laughs, but, strangely, there are no tears here either. It's just an unrelenting downer, though it does have a somewhat Hollywood ending. Sandler's mumbling gets annoying, and when he tries to commit suicide by cop, he still ends up free, which probably would never happen in real life. Watch this if you want to be bummed out for two hours.
Sombre but amazing, thought-provoking 
2009-06-14 - Reign Over Me is an amazing and ultimately uplifting film.
The movie tells the story of Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle), a Manhattan dentist who's feeling a bit stifled by his life. Everything looks good from the outside - a successful dental practice, a beautiful wife that loves him, sweet kids - but he finds himself oddly closed off and non-communicative.
Alan is driving one day, and he catches sight of Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler), his college roommate from dental school. Alan knows that Charlie lost his wife and three daughters in the Sept. 11 attacks (five years ago in the world of the movie). Though Alan has tried numerous times since then to make contact with Charlie, he's been unsuccessful. Eventually, Alan and Charlie reconnect, and Alan discovers that Charlie has steadily slipped away from reality since his horrible loss.
As the two men re-establish their friendship, they find they both benefit in different ways from being with one another. Alan feels less pressured by career and family obligations, and Charlie begins to confront the death of his family and what it has meant for him.
Though the storyline sounds grim, I laughed alot during this movie. Cheadle and Sandler both give solid performances (especially Cheadle - he is freaking amazing in this), and their joy at rediscovering one another makes for some wonderful moments on screen. Liv Tyler plays a sweet supporting role as a grief and loss counselor, and Donald Sutherland gives a dead-on fabulous cameo as an irritable judge.
Despite the tragic timbre of the story, I never found it maudlin or emotionally manipulative. It seemed effortless. "This is what loss is like. This is what grief can do to you. This is how you can start to come out of it." The movie felt very true, somehow.
And it leads the viewer to ask some questions of him/herself. I mean, if I lost my family all at once like that, I like to think I'd be able to cope with it, but could I? How does one get past such a thing? How does one avoid becoming emotionally crippled by such devastation? It is both interesting and awful to ponder.
Touching movie that's well done
2009-06-09 - Really good movie about two guys who are trapped in their lives - one by tragedy, one by stagnation. I actually really like Adam Sandler when he does serious roles (Spanglish, Anger Management), much moreso than his comedies. He plays the same character a bit, but it works for me. And Don Cheadle is really strong as his counterpart who tries to help Sandler (who has lost his way after losing his family in the 9/11 attacks). Some mediocre subplots get in the way of this being a 5-star movie, but I was still completely sold on the characters, both by the writing and by the acting.
