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List Price: $19.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 5104
Released: October 9, 2007 |
| Our Price: $6.99 |
| Used Price: $2.36 |
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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. Bill Zwecker of CBS-TV hails REIGN OVER ME as A truly brilliant film. System Requirements:Run Time: 124 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 043396173873 Manufacturer No: 17387
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:
Adam Sandler's definitive drama role and a very nice surprise! 
2008-08-20 - I love Adam Sandler, first off. I'm a huge fan of idiotic comedies such as Billy Madison and grew up as a teen about the same time they came out, so he's a bit of a favirote of mine as a comedic actor. The best part I think about Adam is that he does most of the writing and stuff for his material and LOVES to bring in his friends to play a small role in almost every movie he makes. Recently, however, his movies have developed a lot more plot sense and they are becoming less and less like the Adam we all know and love, such as 40 First Dates(a very sweet love story, but hilarious all the while) and Reign Over Me.
This movie came as a bit of a surprise for me and my fiance. I had no idea it had a contextual story based on the events of 9/11 until I watched it. There have been a few stinkers in my mind(Twin Towers and the other film I forget the name of right now) that tried to represent a real picture of the 9/11 tragedy. This movie is not in any way like those movies. Reign Over Me attemptes to portray a real life, honest-to-goodness account of someone who's life was directly impacted by the attack, but it never takes center stage.
Adam plays Charlie Fineman, a man who has lost himself in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. I don't like giving too mucgh info on the plot so, long storry short, Don Cheadle is an old, but very close, friend to Charlie and discovers him one day in New York and they begin to rekindle the friendship they once had. The friendship serves as he backbone of the entire movie and is really heartwarming, I must say, you feel like Sandler and Cheadle have been friends for years and they do exceedingly well at pulling off their respective roles. Cheadle's character also stands to gain a lot of perspective from this renewed friendship and the bond they reforge is eventually what causes Charlie to begin to come back to reality. There is a moment in the movie, I won't say which because you'll know if you watch it, where both I and my fiance could not help but cry. Sandler's performance truelly surprised me and I am extremelly happy to say it shows his real skill as an actor. I'm not much of a cryer myself, being a "man" and all >.< but I recently rewatched the movie, by myself, and I cried harder this time than I did the first. I already love Cheadle as an actor and he is very well known as a strong support or lead ever since Hotel Rowanda, so I don't think I need to say much about his performance at all.
All in all, I think this movie should have been nominated for some academy awards but it was overlooked, most likelly due to the fact that Adam Sandler was cast as the lead and god forbid they take him seriously. This movie is funny, sad, happy, heart-wrenching, and ultimatelly satisfying and I hope this review makes more people go out and buy it because I honestly feel you will walk away from the experience feeling nearly as satisfied as I did.
thoughtful film with a great Cheadle performance 
2008-08-18 - Adam Sandler takes on one of his rare dramatic roles in "Reign Over Me," playing a man suffering from acute post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by the loss of his wife and daughters on 9/11. Once a successful dentist, Charlie Fineman has now retreated to a world of his own, cut off from friends, family members and even the memories of his old life. Don Cheadle plays Alan Johnson, Charlie's former college roommate with a successful dental practice of his own who runs into Charlie on the street one day and slowly, tentatively offers him the hand of friendship. The movie chronicles the slow but steady healing process that takes place as a result of that friendship.
Given the setup, one wouldn`t expect Alan to turn out to be the more complex, layered and compelling of the two characters. But in writer/director Mike Binder's gifted hands, we come to see that Alan is struggling every bit as much as Charlie is with his own set of weaknesses, insecurities and inadequacies, albeit not in so obvious a fashion. For the major difference between Alan and Charlie is that Alan can at least manage to hold his life together and remain a productive adult while Charlie clearly cannot. Is Alan drawn to Charlie because he sincerely wants to help him, or is he drawn to him because, in some strange way, he envies the freedom that Charlie`s dysfunctional life affords him? Or is it a little of both? The beauty of the character - and of Cheadle's magnificently rich interpretation of him - is that we never really know the answer to those questions.
Binder is notably less successful at getting into Charlie`s head, partly because Sandler's performance, while not bad, lacks the subtle shadings we find in Cheadle's. Still, there are moments in which Sandler effectively captures the heartbreaking pain that his character is going through. The movie also boasts very fine work from Jada Pinkett Smith, as Alan's wife; Melinda Dillon as Charlie's concerned mother-in-law; Saffron Burrows as a mentally disturbed patient who comes on to Alan in his office; Liv Tyler as a compassionate psychiatrist; and Paula Newsome as Alan's sassy office receptionist who provides some much needed humor to lighten the load.
The movie could be criticized for having a few too many subplots cluttering up the main storyline, but I argue that it is those very subplots that are indispensable to the movie, since they help to flesh out Alan's character and world. It's true that the film does run on too long and that it occasionally feels a bit too contrived, simplistic and cutesy for its own good, but, on the whole, this is a moving, thoughtful film that treats both its subject matter and its audience with the respect they deserve.
Heart Warming
2008-08-12 - This movie is absolutly fantastic. Adam Sandler is again, amazing, as he always is. A heart-warming story, enjoyable for both men AND women! Such a great performance by Sandler, as well as Banks. I reccomend this movie to anyone! Two thumbs up. (You may need a tissue!)
art imitates life
2008-07-16 - This is a very good movie. It's real, not over the top, and not forced on us, it is what it is. Real people, in real situations, no huge plot twists, and no fairy tale ending. This is art that resembles life, and it does a pretty good job of it. Don Cheadle's character is a dentist (not psychiatrist like it says in the description). He runs into an old friend (sandler) on the street. They were roommates in dental school, but Charlie doesn't remember him. After losing his family in the 9/11 attacks he has dealt with an extreme case of post-traumatic stress syndrome. What follows is Johnson's attempt to "help" Charlie, and in the process helping himself. I almost didn't watch this movie, b/c I didn't think that I would like it. I'm glad I did.
Reign Over Me
2008-07-08 - Adam Sandler is fantastic in this movie. It shows he can play serious parts besides his comedy side.
