Reign Over Me

Who knew Adam Sandler could act? Everyone, but depending on who you ask you get a different kind of answer. For the Happy-Madison, anti-mature, anti-prestigious film crowd, the answer is: “Of course! I love Adam Sandler! He is the funniest person alive,” they say as they bang on their PlayStation controller. For ultimate film buffs, the answer is: “He’s good in Punch-Drunk Love, but the rest of his work is crap.” Whichever category you fall under, it’s hard not to recognize the quality of work that the actor puts into his latest film, Reign Over Me, which also stars Don Cheadle in yet another fabulous turn.

Cheadle stars as Alan Johnson, a New York dentist who has the gilded life, seemingly perfect, yet Johnson feels suffocated by the everyday restraints of a family life. By chance one day, Alan runs into Charlie Fineman (Sandler), an old college roommate who has lost his entire family in the attacks of 9/11 and has blocked out the past to deal with his loss. But this is not a 9/11 film; this is a film about two men learning to communicate. Alan and Charlie rekindle their friendship, even though Charlie doesn’t remember Alan. Each man helps the other to cope with his communication problem, with two strong performances from the actors.

But the real star of this film is writer/director Mike Binder, who penciled a touching and witty script. This time it’s the amusing dialogue that is getting Sandler laughs, not his angry outbursts. Not to say that he doesn’t have any outbursts in this film, he has several that are quit unsettling to watch, which is part of the great performance he gives. The movie avoids being too over-dramatic with the sparks of humor Binder spreads amongst the story. The film steers near being too touching and emotional, but not unbearably. Binder said he listened to The Who’s Love Reign O’er Me while writing, and the song appears frequently in the film as well as a cover by Pearl Jam, which appears near the end as a great aesthetic choice.

With Sandler aboard the film will most likely be a box-office success, and with the quality, it should be a critical one as well. With just a few “serious roles” with Reign and Punch-Drunk, Sandler has me wishing for more of them. Cheadle gives another brilliant performance and continues to prove he’s one of the best actors on the scene today.

Other films from Mike Binder:
The Upside of Anger(2005), Man About Town(2006)