ten superb films from the legendary Rob Reiner • Journal • A Magazine • , Life in canada

Rob Reiner was always due for a reevaluation. As a director, he created works that were beloved by audiences for decades, but tended to eschew the “gritty” material that would typically garner acclaim in the 1980s and ’90s. While this may not have netted him any Oscars, it nevertheless led to one of the most staggering runs of classic films out of post-war Hollywood.

Despite hopping between genres, Reiner was never a journeyman. He simply didn’t feel like he needed to step in front of the camera. He had already done that with his Emmy-winning portrayal of Michael “Meathead” Stivic in All in the Family. When looking back at The Princess Bride, he told IGN he lamented the lens flare in a single shot because it reminded the audience that they were looking at a movie rather than inhabiting the world. Reiner’s craftsmanship wasn’t in drawing your attention to his visuals, but letting you get lost in the story and characters.

This total investment in stories and the people within them allowed audiences to fully transport themselves to the worlds he created. We all feel like we kind of know the vanity of musicians thanks to This Is Spinal Tap. The darkness of youth fully comes alive in Stand by Me without ever playing as cheap as a dime-store hood. We can see our own love stories in the romantic comedy of When Harry Met Sally…, not only in the central characters, but through all the film’s couples to show the unusual ways people fall in love. We understand American idealism in the face of our divisions in the Capra-esque A Few Good Men and The American President. And lest anyone think that Reiner could only comfort audiences, we clearly see the darker sides of our own obsessions in the unnerving insanity of Misery’s Annie Wilkes.

As many have remarked in the days following the shocking deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele, he likely made at least one of your favorite movies, the ones you return to time and again. He made films against which other mockumentaries or rom-coms or coming-of-age films are measured.

The community celebrates the work of this astounding filmmaker, and highlights how his work will live on through the ages.