It is always strange, attempting to write about someone you don’t know and never met—but stranger, attempting to write about someone you feel like you know well and have always known. This past weekend, we tragically lost Rob Reiner, one of the great directors, producers, writers, and actors of modern entertainment. The son of legendary comedian, actor, writer, director and producer Carl Reiner, Rob carried on his father’s legacy of incredible, indelible entertainment—as well as speaking out against injustice, inequality, and the creep of fascism into American life.
In the last few days, there has been a deserving outpouring of loving tributes about Rob. He managed to do one of life’s most difficult feats, over and over again: to make art which changes lives. Rob directed The Princess Bride, my personal favorite movie of all time, after he read William Goldman’s novel and loved it. He directed When Harry Met Sally. He directed Stand By Me, This is Spinal Tap, Misery, A Few Good Men, The Sure Thing, The American President. He is single-handedly responsible for so many of the best references and jokes in our culture, so many movie moments that made so many people fall in love with the art form.
Whenever Rob Reiner popped onto the screen, it was a joy. He began his acting career with guest spots in TV shows like The Beverly Hillbillies and The Partridge Family, before landing a leading role on All in the Family, as Michael Stivic, the unafraid, politically-progressive son-in-law to the cantankerous and racist Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor). He often shied away from leading roles, preferring supporting parts, some in his own movies, some in his friends’. He’s Tom Hanks’s best friend in Sleepless in Seattle, a Steve Martin’s helpful veterinarian friend in Mixed Nuts, Billy Crystal’s agent in Throw Momma From the Train. He was always comfortable playing himself, also—versions of “Rob Reiner” in TV shows from Curb Your Enthusiasm to 30 Rock to Hannah Montana.
I always love a Rob Reiner cameo, and I especially love how his cameos expanded into larger supporting roles later in his career. He stole the show as Max Belfort, the father of Leonardo DiCaprio’s financial miscreant, in The Wolf of Wall Street. He delighted a new generation of viewers as Zooey Deschanel’s dad Bob in New Girl, and, shortly before he died, as business advisor Albert Schnur in four episodes of The Bear.
He was an artist fluent in many genres, as comfortable doing improvisational comedy as he was designing a scene in a horror movie. I suppose, since this is a crime website, I should discuss the many movies he made that fall into this broad category: two (excellent) Stephen King adaptations, a legal thriller, a swashbuckling fantasy adventure, several classic crime comedies.
Befitting his lovable, bear-huggy, big-hearted reputation in life, though, onscreen and behind the camera, no matter the genre, he produced powerful, moving, and inspiring stories that center the importance of love, friendship, and family. His movies changed my life. I’m sure they also changed yours.
