After the deaths last weekend director Rob Reiner and his wife MichelleTurner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz assesses Reiner's unprecedented film career and life:
Rob Reiner entered America's collective consciousness in 1971 when he played Mike Stivic, Archie Bunker's son-in-law and politically liberal rival, on All in the Family.
Mike: “It seems like politics in America is only for the rich.”
Archie: “Who fed you this communist crap?”
Mike: “President Eisenhower said that.”
Archie: “He didn’t do it! Eisenhower was a great president who never said anything.”
Even then, Rainer knew that no matter how good he was in front of the camera, he wanted to be a director. He made his feature directorial debut in 1984 with This Is Spinal Tap, a parody of a documentary that features one of the funniest scenes in film history:
Nigel (Christopher Guest): “It’s very, very special. Because as you can see, all the numbers go to 11. Look, right across the board: 11, 11, 11, 11.”
Marty: (Rainer): “And most amps go up to 10?”
Nigel: “Exactly… What do we do if we need that extra push towards the cliff, do you know what we do?”
Marty: “Turn it up to 11?”
Nigel: “Exactly. One louder.”
Marty: “Why don’t you just make 10 louder, make 10 the top number and make it a little louder?”
Pause.
Nigel: “They're going to 11!”
Spinal Tap began a remarkable run that rivals the best directors in Hollywood history: seven classic films in just 11 years, each withstood the test of time, each with a sliver of genuine humanity.
“Stand by Me” depicts a painful moment of friendship between two boys.
“The Princess Bride” is a combination of eternal love… and revenge.
Inigo (Mandy Patinkin): “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
The three films Reiner made during this period of success contain scenes so perfectly shot that they have become part of our common cinematic language. First there was the diner scene in When Harry Met Sally. In this scene, Meg Ryan was supposed to imitate a woman faking an orgasm. After the first take, Reiner approached Ryan and explained what he wanted: louder, more hand movements, banging on the table. The button to the stage came from Reiner's mother, Estelle: “I'll get what she gets.”
Next up was Kathy Bates, who had an Oscar-winning role in Misery. In the limp scene, Reiner shows us the point of view of James Caan, tied to a bed and looking at Bates' benevolent, maniacal face.
Finally, with A Few Good Men, Reiner did the seemingly impossible: put Jack Nicholson in a performance as memorable as Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or The Shining. Reiner gave us a courtroom drama for the ages, and Nicholson gave us the opportunity to shine in front of a new generation of movie lovers.
Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson): “You want answers.”
Lt. Caffey (Tom Cruise): “I think I have a right to that.”
Jessup: “You want answers?”
Caffy: “I want the truth.”
Jessup: “You can't handle the truth.”
The truth about Rob Reiner is that for many Americans his politics were as famous as his filmsbut not always so popular. A fierce critic of President Trump, there are undoubtedly millions of Americans who disagreed (many strongly) with Reiner.
But here's what we can all understand about him: Rob Reiner was a patriotic American who believed deeply in humanity; who believed in making his country work as best it could for as many people as possible.
You can see this ambitious political nature in the last film of his remarkable series, 1995's The American President:
President Shepherd (Michael Douglas): “You mean to say that this land is the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol must also be one of its citizens exercising their right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me this, defend this, celebrate this in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.”
There is no easy way to cope with the family tragedy that befell Rob and Michelle Reiner. It's horrible. Period.
The sense of loss is heightened by Rob's high position in Hollywood. In a business that can provoke betrayal and create enemies, Rob was loved by almost everyone in the entertainment industry. I didn't know him as well as I would have liked, but he always made me feel like we had been friends for decades.
His character was defined by his kindness, his humor, his compassion and his own humanity.
These are the qualities we all love about his films, films that perhaps, in some small way, can help us find something to unite us in these incredibly transformative times.
Watch the CBS News Special “Rob Reiner. Scenes from life.” airs Sunday, December 21 at 8:30 PM ET/8:00 PM PT on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
The story was produced by Gabriel Falcon. Editor: Emanuele Secchi.
See also:
From the archives: Threesome with Rob Reiner (YouTube video)
Check out three stories from the Sunday Morning archives featuring actor, writer and director Rob Reiner, including a 2010 profile in which he chronicles his career, from star of the classic sitcom All in the Family to director of hits such as Stand By Me, The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally; a 2023 film in which Rob and his siblings Annie and Lucas explore the legacy of their father, comedian Carl Reiner; and a 2023 profile in which Reiner and his old classmate Albert Brooks reminisce about their childhood in Beverly Hills and how they each became important figures in comedy.
