Reign Over Me - Probably my favorite Adam Sandler Movie

[louis0nfire]

So after watching Ep. 64 of TRS today, and with the discussion of Adam Sandler movies, I'm wondering how popular this movie really is. Reign Over Me stars Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle, and is easily one my favorite Adam Sandler movies. Did anyone also enjoy this movie?

If anyone hasn't seen it, I reccomend you check it out. And since it wasn't mentioned in the segment; Jeff, Dan, Alex: Have you seen it? How did you like it?

[esophagus]

Definitely Sandler's best dramatic film, in my opinion (not much competition).

Best thing he has done since the days of Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, etc.

[stubadub]

Punch Drunk Love is easily my favorite of his more dramatic roles, even if that one still has comedic elements. He's playing the same emotionally stunted man-boy with rage problems that he plays in most of his films, just moved into a more realistic world.

Reign Over Me is a distant second. I liked it, but I freakin' adore Punch Drunk Love.

[the-ark]

Reign over me was really good but another good comedy/serious movie that Sandler did was Click and that movie was pretty powerful.

[esophagus]

Reign over me was really good but another good comedy/serious movie that Sandler did was Click and that movie was pretty powerful.
Are you being serious?

I would give some leeway to Punch Drunk Love, but Click? Huh.

[the-ark]

Are you being serious?

I would give some leeway to Punch Drunk Love, but Click? Huh.

I haven't seen that but for me Click, although silly definitely had a good message and "tugged at the heartstrings" at the end. For me atleast.

[esophagus]

Fair enough. Personal taste and that jazz. I thought it was all a bit hokey.

[dstrack007]

My wife and I got this one thru Vongo on the Media Center a while back (Vongo's not bad... interface is nice and it has lots of older movies that we never had a chance to see in the theater...). We were really impressed with the movie and Adam Sandler's acting. Really enjoyed it. Before seeing it I never thought I could believe Sandler playing a serious role - although I have to admit after watching it I think he pulled it off very well. I feel that Don Cheadle is amazing in everything he does.

[louis0nfire]

My wife and I got this one thru Vongo on the Media Center a while back (Vongo's not bad... interface is nice and it has lots of older movies that we never had a chance to see in the theater...). We were really impressed with the movie and Adam Sandler's acting. Really enjoyed it. Before seeing it I never thought I could believe Sandler playing a serious role - although I have to admit after watching it I think he pulled it off very well. I feel that Don Cheadle is amazing in everything he does.

That's exactly how I feel about Don Cheadle. He's never in a bad movie, imo. And I think Sandler was perfect for the role. His acting was amazing. I love the story itself also, so sad, but the small bits of comedy here and there are great.

[gabe_utsecks]

I thought Reign Over Me was terrible. Well, not quite terrible. It was in that zone of absolute mediocrity that is actually worse than terrible.

The dialogue and story were mediocre, the pacing was bad, but the worst thing about it was that it was extremely redundant and repetitive. Nearly every scene served the same purpose -- "look, Adam Sandler is messed up because he lost his family, and maybe it is okay that he is messed up. And look, Don Cheadle, who hasn't lost anyone, is also kind of messed up too. Aren't we all, in some way?"

The performances all around, however, were fantastic, and I think Don Cheadle was sometimes funny, but I don't really remember. The most memorable part of the film is, sadly, the Shadow of the Colossus motif, which I absolutely loved.

I think it could have worked as a 15-20 minute film.

Punch-Drunk Love is much, much better.

[ryanw14]

I thought Reign Over Me was terrible. Well, not quite terrible. It was in that zone of absolute mediocrity that is actually worse than terrible.

The dialogue and story were mediocre, the pacing was bad, but the worst thing about it was that it was extremely redundant and repetitive. Nearly every scene served the same purpose -- "look, Adam Sandler is messed up because he lost his family, and maybe it is okay that he is messed up. And look, Don Cheadle, who hasn't lost anyone, is also kind of messed up too. Aren't we all, in some way?"

The performances all around, however, were fantastic, and I think Don Cheadle was sometimes funny, but I don't really remember. The most memorable part of the film is, sadly, the Shadow of the Colossus motif, which I absolutely loved.

I think it could have worked as a 15-20 minute film.

Punch-Drunk Love is much, much better.

Couldn't agree more. The acting was great but it was sooo repetitive. I felt like I was watching the same few scenes over and over and over. It wasn't a terrible movie though, there are some powerful moments.

I also agree that Punch Drunk Love was excellent.

[nshady]

I haven't seen Punch Drunk Love yet, but I really enjoyed Reign Over Me (though I much prefer the working title 'Empty City').

[esophagus]

"look, Adam Sandler is messed up because he lost his family, and maybe it is okay that he is messed up. And look, Don Cheadle, who hasn't lost anyone, is also kind of messed up too. Aren't we all, in some way?" Thats kind of a nonsensical point. That is the point the story, so it makes sense to tell people it is. If after freaking out in court Sandler decided to go play golf with a hockey stick or go back in time with a magical remote cotnrol it wouldn't have held any weight or purpose. Why would any scene give you any message other than the message the entire movie is giving you?

[dolson]

I am always interested in movies where an actor traditionally written off as a comedy-only, no-real-talent actor gets to play a serious role, and does an excellent job at it.

Will Ferrell impressed me in Stranger than Fiction, and Jim Carrey impressed in Number 23 and especially Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (and Man on the Moon, though some might not like it - I loved it, and he did such an excellent job as Andy Kaufman).

I'll have to check out Reign Over Me, to see if Sandler can do it too. I haven't seen a movie of his that I really really loved (Big Daddy was good, actually..). Did not like Punch Drunk Love, and can't remember how good he was in that movie because I didn't like it. But that *was* a long time ago, and my tastes in a lot of things has changed, so I might just go back and watch it again.

Spanglish sucked all around, though. I remember that much.

[esophagus]

Jim Carrey impressed in Number 23I really didn't like that movie. He wasn't terrible in it, though. I also really enjoyed him in The Truman Show.Spanglish sucked all around, though. I remember that much.Quoted for truth.

[lavahot]

I wasn't a fan of Punch Drunk Love, I thought he made a raw deal in the end. He prolly should have also punched that guy. I'm not sure if this is my favorite Sandler drama pic. It's strange, but I don't recall Sandler in the movie, he's just so far-removed from his usual persona that he seems to be a completely different person.

This is my second favorite Cheadle movie, after Rawanda. I really wish he was in more stuff.

[apswesthome]

I adored Reign Over Me -- i only watched it once and it made me feel and actually evoked emotion from me that I didn't think would come up. I remembered all of it's great scene's and enjoyed watching it. This is why I liked it and it is also not why I think it's a "good film." I also don't think that anybody should like it or would be beneficial to go see. But overall I would recommend it and say it is a well made film but not a must see film.

[trunolimit]

Don't mess with the Zohan was great i think. His love interest is soooooo fine I love her. I felt the movie was a bit to racist. maybe its just me. It was a good movie though.

[torx]

"Click" is my favorite serious sandler movie.

It was so sad that im scared to watch it again.

[heyseuss]

This is my second favorite Cheadle movie, after Rawanda. I really wish he was in more stuff.

See, Rebound the story of Goat Manigault . My fav Cheadle flick. He did this before he was big and it's very, 'natural'. Shot for tv I think though. It's "Basketball Diaries", but with a less poetic main character, who has a godgiven gift of talent, that Jim Carroll (Leo's real-life character in Basketball Diaries) did not have. Maybe it's because it has basketball in it, and is based on a true story, or maybe I'm just a sucker for movie that has a tiny guy smoking a joint and betting $20 his high school gym coach that he can touch the top of the backboard.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117450/

[heyseuss]

"Click" is my favorite serious sandler movie.

It was so sad that im scared to watch it again.

I thought that it wasn't serious until t'wards the end, then yes, as you said, very sad.... but throughout the body of it, was kinda light.

[jaylaf]

I finished watching Reign Over Me...just now.

It seems that many, many people want to compare Reign Over Me to Punch Drunk Love, questioning which is the ideal example of Sandler proving his dramatic mettle. That may just come down to preference, because he certainly shows his ability in both.

However, compare them in relation to the idea that Reign Over Me served (with "nearly every scene") to repeatedly show Sandler's character as messed up. That's pretty much what Punch Drunk Love did. Understand, I loved that movie. I think P.T. Anderson is a great storyteller, and created a great place for Sandler to test new acting waters.

I mean, in the end, what did Punch Drunk Love show his character to be? Some messed up guy. What did Reign Over Me show him to be? Again, some messed up guy. But, in Punch Drunk Love, he was messed up because his sisters bullied him, and in the other he was messed up because he lost his entire family in an afternoon.

With Punch Drunk Love, it served to present us with this funny, odd-ball character who you just had to like. And watching him gather himself just enough to take interest in the girl was great, which fuels him to bring everything around him to order. Plus, there are few cooler movie moments than when he gets ahold of the tire iron and takes out the whole truck full of guys. That was freakin' awesome!

When it comes to Reign Over Me, the director calls to question just how much someone's life can careen off-track with just such an enormous personal tragedy. Just how long should it take someone to cope with losing everyone? Yes, most will see from the beginning that what he does with himself is a coping mechanism to deal with it all (or, actually, avoid it). But, I kept thinking I knew what the story would do next, and it usually didn't. And, the few times it did, it wasn't the way I thought it would go. I just really didn't find it stale or repetitive. I was pretty choked up, a few times. And yes, the fact that Shadow of the Colossus was the game for him, was AWESOME!

All I can say is man, Adam Sandler really is proving to be a great frickin' actor! I'm just glad for that.

[esophagus]

All I can say is man, Adam Sandler really is proving to be a great frickin' actor! I'm just glad for that.
And then he makes Don't Mess With the Zohan.

[jaylaf]

And then he makes Don't Mess With the Zohan.


Heh. Well, I haven't seen it, so I couldn't say. I have to wonder, though...why do I get the sneaking suspicion that, when it comes to all of the Happy Madison comedies, they are usually borne from nights of drunken hilarity? Someone says (about 8 beers in), "Dude, you know what would be friggin' funny as shit?"...and a premise is born.

[esophagus]

Heh. Well, I haven't seen it, so I couldn't say. I have to wonder, though...why do I get the sneaking suspicion that, when it comes to all of the Happy Madison comedies, they are usually borne from nights of drunken hilarity? Someone says (about 8 beers in), "Dude, you know what would be friggin' funny as shit?"...and a premise is born.
I have story ideas that way too, and I'm quite fortunate that I don't have the money to see them to fruition.

The alcohol theory exolains it all. Lots of brain cells = Happy Gilmore, years into it with dead brain cells = Don't Mess with Zohan and Rob Schneider movies.

[gabe_utsecks]

Thats kind of a nonsensical point. That is the point the story, so it makes sense to tell people it is. ... Why would any scene give you any message other than the message the entire movie is giving you?

I didn't really explain well what I meant.

There is a difference between a story having a purpose (or a message, moral, et cetera) unfolding throughout a story, and a movie having a point or message made over and over and over again in the same way throughout the entire movie. Reign Over Me gets its message(s) across quickly and in a relatively efficient manner, and then it continues to do it again and again for the remainder of its over-two-hour run time.

Its not the message that matters, but how the message is expressed in the story. If the point of the story was the only thing that mattered, the story of Hansel & Gretel would go something like this: Don't run off into the woods. Great story. Raging Bull would go like this: Jealousy ruins lives. That's worthy of an Oscar nomination.

How the story unfolds is what is important. The ride. There are innumerable movies that are perfectly competent in expressing their meaning or purpose, but absolutely suck because they are not well-told stories.

[esophagus]

I guess, I thought the characters were developed fairly well as things went on, which held me over. You disagree, which is perfectly fine.