Remembering the Reiners

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Remembering the Reiners

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By Ben Elliott

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The murder of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele this last weekend was an unspeakable tragedy — made even worse by heartless comments from a public figure who used a time of mourning to further the pain of the grieving.

The only silver lining in this dark cloud of a national moment has been the outpouring of love and admiration for the Reiners from their friends and fans — for their work in film and television, as activists, and as loving human beings. It’s a powerful legacy, with Reiner’s run as a director in the 1980s and 1990s standing as its centerpiece.

Two friends chasing floating legs in a red room from House, 1977

The Princess Bride, 1987

After breaking out as an actor on All in the Family, Reiner moved behind the camera and delivered one of the most remarkable seven-film stretches in American cinema: the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap; the teen comedy The Sure Thing; the coming-of-age classic Stand By Me; the fantasy-romance The Princess Bride; the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally…; the psychological horror Misery; and the courtroom drama A Few Good Men.

A young woman holding a severed head in House, 1977

Stand by Me, 1986

These films could not be more different in tone or genre, yet they are unified by Reiner’s deep, abiding humanism. Outcasts, buffoons, monsters — he found the beating heart in all of them, giving his actors the space to make even the most heightened characters feel recognizably real.

I hope you’ll take time this holiday season to revisit one of his films with friends or family. It’s a wonderful way to honor the Reiner’s legacy and embrace the kind of small, human moments that keep us going through even the darkest of days.

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