On nearly every evening, a classic film directed by Rob Reiner, such as The Princess Bride, Stand by Me, This Is Spinal Tap, Misery, or A Few Good Men, is aired on various cable TV channels.
However, until a recent retrospective event at the Film Society of Lincoln Center on April 27 and 28, where Martin Scorsese honored him with the Chaplin Award, Reiner was primarily known to many as “Meathead” from the 1970s TV show All in The Family, or simply as a versatile Hollywood director.
According to Andrew Sarris’s definition of an auteur, Reiner qualifies due to his famous films’ recurring themes and consistent tone.
Despite collaborating with various screenwriters, Reiner consistently explores common themes, focusing on writers, their challenges, the creative process, and the power of storytelling to combat authority figures and bullies.
He skillfully maintains a consistent tone by blending poignant and light-hearted moments while demonstrating a practical yet unassuming visual style.
Rob Reiner: Overlooked Auteur
Rob Reiner’s interest in the positive impact of stories, art, and the creative process is evident in several films, including Stand by Me, Misery, Alex and Emma, Flipped, The Magic of Belle Isle, and The Princess Bride.
His romantic comedies often feature protagonists who are writers and grapple with commitment issues while engaging with a contrasting partner.
Furthermore, Reiner’s outrage at the abuse of power is expressed in some of his films, where his protagonists rely on intellect rather than physical strength to confront potent antagonists or bullies.
Stories play a comforting and uplifting role for characters in Reiner’s films.
For example, in The Princess Bride, a sick little boy, initially disinterested in his grandfather’s tale, becomes captivated by it, eagerly requesting to hear it again.
Similarly, in Stand by Me, the protagonist finds solace from a troubled home life through storytelling, providing him with a sense of identity and achievement.
In Alex and Emma, writing becomes a means for the protagonist to express himself following his parents’ divorce.
The romantic novels authored by a character in Misery bring joy to a troubled fan, illustrating the comforting and uplifting power of storytelling in Reiner’s films.
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In his films spanning from This Is Spinal Tap (1984) to The Magic of Belle Isle (2012), Reiner delves into the creative struggles artists, particularly writers, face as they navigate obstacles in their craft.
These challenges include finding and reclaiming their voice, overcoming writer’s block, and managing readers’ expectations.
Alex and Emma extensively explore the novelist’s journey, encompassing discussions on writer’s block, inspiration, accountability to the audience, character development, and the various facets of fiction creation.
Furthermore, Reiner’s films, such as Misery and This Is Spinal Tap, delve into the complex relationship between writers and their fans, depicting scenarios where unhinged readers torment novelists and aging rockers face dwindling audiences.
In several of Reiner’s romantic comedies, the protagonist is a writer, with one partner typically embodying a zanier and more uninhibited personality, while the other is relatively reserved and cautious.
By the conclusion of these films, the free-spirited character undergoes some maturation, and the more restrained individual experiences a loosening of their inhibitions, often engaging in playful or spontaneous behavior.
For instance, in The Story of Us, the reserved Michelle Pfeiffer embraces fun by donning a noisy fireman’s hat in response to Bruce Willis’s antics.
At the same time, in The Sure Thing, John Cusack’s character prompts the responsible college girl to engage in a carefree gesture.
Additionally, although The Bucket List is not a romantic film, it pairs an impulsive character with a more contemplative one, with the former influencing the latter to embrace adventure.
Similarly, in The American President, the protagonist’s passion for advocating worthy causes ultimately influences the president to take a spirited stand, demonstrating the impact of spiritedness and spontaneity on the character’s development.
The film The American President serves as an illustration of the director’s disdain for bullies and unethical figures in positions of power.
The portrayal of a Republican politician in the movie involves deceitful actions, including false accusations against the character Sydney.
These antagonists are depicted as either megalomaniacs or as cruel individuals.
In Ghosts of Mississippi, Reiner condemns the inhumane treatment of African Americans by white Southerners, particularly highlighting the cowardly act of shooting Medgar Evers in front of his sleeping children.
In Stand by Me, Gordie’s father compares him to his deceased brother unfavorably. In A Few Good Men, Col. Jessup engages in deceit and evidence tampering following a soldier’s death during a hazing ritual.
The protagonists or victims in Reiner’s films triumph through their intellect. For example, in Stand by Me, the protagonist outwits a juvenile delinquent, leading to the delinquent’s realization that the protagonist won’t yield.
Similarly, in Misery, the protagonist overcomes his captor through cunning, and in A Few Good Men, a character manipulates another into self-incrimination.
Additionally, in The Princess Bride, the recovering hero provides instructions to his companions despite his weakened state, showcasing the triumph of intellect over adversity.
Similar to Reiner himself, the protagonists in A Few Good Men and Stand by Me contend with larger-than-life fathers and grapple with anxiety regarding the inability to meet paternal expectations.
Rob Reiner, a writer and the son of the renowned comedian/writer/actor/director/producer Carl Reiner, evidently explores personal themes in his films.
While he has encountered some setbacks, particularly with films like North, The Story of Us, and Rumor Has It, Reiner remains artistically ambitious.
Even in these less successful works, he continues to delve into his recurring themes, such as the development of a spontaneous writer who learns to embrace a more conventional partner (The Story of Us, Rumor Has It) and the portrayal of a neglected child, as seen in Stand by Me and Flipped, who uses storytelling as a means to cope with his feelings of abandonment (North).
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