“Reign Over Me” (Sony Pictures)
The Serious Side of Sandler
A few weeks ago we had funnyman Jim Carrey going all serious on us with “The Number 23.” Now we get the serious side of Adam Sandler in the new movie “Reign Over Me.” Sandler’s effort is better than Carrey’s but this movie doesn’t work either. Not because of Sandler per se but because the movie is just a mess. If you are going to do a relationship movie you had better be sure the audience will care about the people in the relationship. In “Reign Over Me” you never get to the point where you care.
In the movie Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) is a successful dentist but his home life is a little dull. He has an almost perfect wife (Jada Pinkett Smith) and two adorable daughters but he needs some breathing space. When he spies his old college roommate Charlie Fineman (Sandler) one night he is eager to renew their acquaintance. But Charlie, he finds, has issues. His wife and three daughters were on one of the planes that was flown into the World Trade Center Towers. Charlie is a broken man who is barely getting through life.
The rest of the movie deals with Alan’s attempts to rescue Charlie and give him back his life. He does this by getting him lined up with a psychiatrist (Liv Tyler), and with a possible woman to date (Saffron Burrows). All of this makes for fairly interesting viewing but nothing substantial happens. Charlie seems to be a lost cause in a lot of ways, and the reasons for Alan’s undying loyalty remain a mystery.
The film ends up being a downer from beginning to end, and the audience never develops that emotional bond that needs to be there. Sandler is right on target when it comes to displaying the irritating side of Charlie’s character but weaker in the more likeable parts.
Cheadle is mister nice guy in his role, except when it comes to Alan’s wife. She is the nice guy there. She puts up with his obsession with Charlie and Alan’s behavior would try a saint. Cheadle and Pinkett Smith convey the right emotions but they too are stymied by the script.
The movie is rated R for profanity.
The thought behind the story appears to have been a good one. After all true friendship is a rare thing and a beautiful one to boot. But this movie never explains the friendship or the relationships. It just is what it is. And where did that stupid title come from anyway
“Reign Over Me” rained all over the audience when I saw it. It was a downer that left you with a bitter taste in your mouth. A good effort on the part of Sandler but not a success.
I scored “Reign Over Me” a rained out 4 out of 10.
