“Reign Over Me”
Starring: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Liv Tyler, Jada Pinkett Smith, Donald Sutherland, Saffron Burrows
3 stars out of 4
Mike Binder uses a handheld camera, a refreshed but still wounded New York as his setting, and a great cast to create a film that knows what it wants to do, but has a very hard time doing it. “Reign over me” is actually a fine film until certain plot points take place, it stands on its own as buddy comedy, a serious drama, and basically as a nice piece of filmmaking that isn’t based of a comic book, or any of the usual releases in the recent months.
The story gears around two buddies who re-connect well into there lives; one of them is Alan Johnson (Cheadle) who has a loving family and his own dentist practice. He seems like a man pleasured by the simple things in life like an affectionate wife and two children. Johnson seems to be needed some extra breathing room to fulfill hobbies and just to get away for a couple of hours from routine home life. He runs into his college roommate Charlie Fineman (Sandler) who he went to dental school with. Charlie rides on a scooter around town at all hours and hasn’t the faintest idea who Alan is. The story follows them re-connecting, enjoying old music, going to Mel Brooks’ marathons, and playing a video game that Charlie is way into.
The scenes in which they are involved are subtle at times and we can see these two share chemistry. All is well and both men are re-opening themselves and having fun until Alan brings up Charles’s family who died in one of the planes in 9/11. Charlie has repressed all memories of his family and wishes to not even remember them, or acknowledge their existence at a time. This is a problem for both the men who wish to help each other. Alan enjoys spending countless hours squandering the city and getting lost in conversations but realizes at the end of the day that Charlie is hurting. Charlie enjoys Alan’s company as his only friend and after one blowup at Alan’s office; Charlie is so embarrassed by his actions that he offers Charlie a million dollars of his government insurance from his family’s death.
Most of the acting is good, as Jada Pinkett Smith turns in a nice role as Alan’s wife; Liv Tyler plays a psychiatrist looking to break into Charlie’s troubles. There is also a small subplot involving one of Johnson’s patients, played by the beautiful Saffron Burrows who just got out of her marriage and is looking for more than a friendship role in Alan’s life, as she consistently offers him oral sex.
After some of the feel good moments during the first half of the movie, and the strong acting, Sandlers character begins to feel forced, and eventually spins out of control at certain times. Many aren’t used to seeing Sandler in a serious role, he proves again here he can handle the weight, but he will never top his dramatic turn in “Punch Drunk Love.”
“Reign over Me” is a consistent look into the daily lives of several New Yorkers, some with more troubles than the next, I liked it for its convincing dialogue and for the honest scenes with Cheadle and Sandler, I wanted to like the film a lot more, but in the end it just ends up being a decent movie that needed more of a push, and less of that Sandler character that breaks everything and screams.
The audience is supposed to care so much for Charlie’s habit of avoiding his past, and shutting off certain parts of his life and memory that we eventually end up caring more about Alan’s troubles, although not at serious as Charlie’s, they feel more refreshing and grounded. By the end we don’t know whether Charlie will turn out alright, although things seem headed in the right direction, his character is so off key that anything could happen.
Starring: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Liv Tyler, Jada Pinkett Smith, Donald Sutherland, Saffron Burrows
3 stars out of 4
Mike Binder uses a handheld camera, a refreshed but still wounded New York as his setting, and a great cast to create a film that knows what it wants to do, but has a very hard time doing it. “Reign over me” is actually a fine film until certain plot points take place, it stands on its own as buddy comedy, a serious drama, and basically as a nice piece of filmmaking that isn’t based of a comic book, or any of the usual releases in the recent months.
The story gears around two buddies who re-connect well into there lives; one of them is Alan Johnson (Cheadle) who has a loving family and his own dentist practice. He seems like a man pleasured by the simple things in life like an affectionate wife and two children. Johnson seems to be needed some extra breathing room to fulfill hobbies and just to get away for a couple of hours from routine home life. He runs into his college roommate Charlie Fineman (Sandler) who he went to dental school with. Charlie rides on a scooter around town at all hours and hasn’t the faintest idea who Alan is. The story follows them re-connecting, enjoying old music, going to Mel Brooks’ marathons, and playing a video game that Charlie is way into.
The scenes in which they are involved are subtle at times and we can see these two share chemistry. All is well and both men are re-opening themselves and having fun until Alan brings up Charles’s family who died in one of the planes in 9/11. Charlie has repressed all memories of his family and wishes to not even remember them, or acknowledge their existence at a time. This is a problem for both the men who wish to help each other. Alan enjoys spending countless hours squandering the city and getting lost in conversations but realizes at the end of the day that Charlie is hurting. Charlie enjoys Alan’s company as his only friend and after one blowup at Alan’s office; Charlie is so embarrassed by his actions that he offers Charlie a million dollars of his government insurance from his family’s death.
Most of the acting is good, as Jada Pinkett Smith turns in a nice role as Alan’s wife; Liv Tyler plays a psychiatrist looking to break into Charlie’s troubles. There is also a small subplot involving one of Johnson’s patients, played by the beautiful Saffron Burrows who just got out of her marriage and is looking for more than a friendship role in Alan’s life, as she consistently offers him oral sex.
After some of the feel good moments during the first half of the movie, and the strong acting, Sandlers character begins to feel forced, and eventually spins out of control at certain times. Many aren’t used to seeing Sandler in a serious role, he proves again here he can handle the weight, but he will never top his dramatic turn in “Punch Drunk Love.”
“Reign over Me” is a consistent look into the daily lives of several New Yorkers, some with more troubles than the next, I liked it for its convincing dialogue and for the honest scenes with Cheadle and Sandler, I wanted to like the film a lot more, but in the end it just ends up being a decent movie that needed more of a push, and less of that Sandler character that breaks everything and screams.
The audience is supposed to care so much for Charlie’s habit of avoiding his past, and shutting off certain parts of his life and memory that we eventually end up caring more about Alan’s troubles, although not at serious as Charlie’s, they feel more refreshing and grounded. By the end we don’t know whether Charlie will turn out alright, although things seem headed in the right direction, his character is so off key that anything could happen.
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