Reign Over Me
| Reign Over Me | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Mike Binder |
| Written by | Mike Binder |
| Produced by | Jack Binder Michael Rotenberg |
| Starring | Adam Sandler Don Cheadle Jada Pinkett Smith Liv Tyler Saffron Burrows Donald Sutherland Mike Binder |
| Cinematography | Russ Alsobrook |
| Edited by | Steve Edwards Jeremy Roush |
| Music by | Rolfe Kent |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates | Australia: March 22, 2007 United States: March 23, 2007 United Kingdom: April 20, 2007 |
Running time | 124 minutes |
| Country | Template:FilmUS |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$20 million (IMDb estimate)[1] |
Reign Over Me is a 2007 American drama film written and directed by Mike Binder, and produced by Jack Binder. The film stars Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, Saffron Burrows and Mike Binder himself.
Distributed by Columbia Pictures, the film was released on March 23, 2007. The film was released to DVD and Blu-ray on October 9, 2007.
Plot
Reign Over Me is about two old friends who fell out of touch and are re-united in post-9/11 New York City.
A chance meeting with an old college roommate becomes the catalyst for healing in writer/director Mike Binder's tale of friendship and understanding in post-9/11 New York. When the Twin Towers went down on that fateful morning in 2001, Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler) lost everything that he had to live for. Five years have passed since Charlie lost his family, and now the once-successful and sociable man has become a withdrawn shadow of his former self. When fate brings Charlie and his former college roommate Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) together once again on a Manhattan street corner, Alan is shocked to see just how far his old friend has fallen. Though on the surface it would appear that Alan has it all, the pressures of his family and career have been weighing heavily on the successful dentist and loving father's shoulders as of late. At that pivotal moment when Charlie and Alan both need a trusted friend to help them work through the seemingly insurmountable challenges they face in life, the restorative power of a rekindled friendship provides just the lifeline needed to move forward into the future with hope and optimism.
Cast
- Adam Sandler as Charlie Fineman
- Don Cheadle as Dr. Alan Johnson
- Jada Pinkett Smith as Janeane Johnson
- Liv Tyler as Dr. Angela Oakhurst
- Saffron Burrows as Donna Remar
- Donald Sutherland as Judge Raines
- Robert Klein as Jonathan Timpleman
- Melinda Dillon as Ginger Timpleman
- Mike Binder as Bryan Sugarman
- Jonathan Banks as Stelter
- John de Lancie as Nigel Pennington
- Rae Allen as Adell Modell
- Paula Newsome as Melanie
- Ted Raimi as Peter Saravino
- B. J. Novak as Fallon
Tom Cruise and Javier Bardem were initially signed on to play Adam Sandler's role and Don Cheadle's role, respectively. Jennifer Garner was initially signed on to play Liv Tyler's role. When Cruise dropped out, Bardem suggested Sandler after seeing him in Punch-Drunk Love. Although Sandler was initially hesitant about the project, he signed on after reading the script for a second time. Bardem later dropped from the project, so Cheadle was given the role.
Soundtrack
As music was an important component to the plot, various songs were used during different parts of the film, such as Bruce Springsteen's "Out In The Street" and "Drive All Night", and a few songs by The Who, including the titular "Love, Reign o'er Me". The latter song appears on the film's soundtrack along with a cover version recorded specifically for the film by Pearl Jam. Televised trailers features the songs "Ashes" by UK band Embrace, "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers, and "In This Life" by Chantal Kreviazuk.
Release and reception
Reign Over Me currently holds a 63% "Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes. General praise has been awarded to the performances of Sandler and Cheadle, with many reviews praising Binder's direction and screenplay.[2] The film opened in 1,671 theaters with a $4,465 per theater average, giving it a total gross of $7.5 million for the weekend. It ended its theatrical run with a domestic total of $19.7 million and an international total of $1.2 million, making a total gross of $20.9 million.[3]
Reviews for the film were mixed to positive. Entertainment Weekly gives Reign Over Me a B- rating, calling the film "a strange, black-and-blue therapeutic drama equally mottled with likable good intentions and agitating clumsiness."[4] Reviewer Lisa Schwarzbaum shares her own discomfort with seeing the September 11 attacks casually included as a plot device in a fictional drama, while praising the film's performance and story.
The New York Times found the film "maddeningly uneven," adding, "It’s rare to see so many moments of grace followed by so many stumbles and fumbles, or to see intelligence and discretion undone so thoroughly by glibness and grossness. And it is puzzling, and ultimately draining, to see a film that waves the flag of honesty — Face your demons! Speak from your heart! Open up! — turn out to be so phony."[5]
Kotaku praised Reign Over Me's inclusion of the video game Shadow of the Colossus, stating that it "must be one of the first Hollywood films, if not the first, to deal with games thematically and intelligently."[6]
See also
References
External links
- Official site
- Reign Over Me at IMDb
- Reign Over Me at AllMovie
- Reign Over Me at Rotten Tomatoes
- Reign Over Me Screening in Berkeley, CA with Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle and director Mike Binder on Sidewalks Entertainment