The idea of two people rekindling a long-lost friendship is nothing new to Hollywood, but Mike Binder's latest film will resonate with audiences in a way that few films of such a story line could ever achieve. Binder brings together a stellar cast, realistic problems and current events to craft the superb "Reign Over Me."
Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) has everything people use to measure success. He is a successful dentist who has an attractive Manhattan townhouse, a lovely wife (Jada Pinkett Smith) and two daughters.
Despite his successes, Johnson is going through a midlife crisis of sorts -- he feels constricted by his life and its many obligations. By chance, he meets his old college roommate, Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler), on the street.
Fineman's life has taken a strikingly different path than Johnson's. After losing his entire family in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, he now lives a carefree and withdrawn life inside an apartment-sized world of music and video games. Fineman and Johnson find themselves on common ground, and at once they start rebuilding their old friendship. Johnson's desire to help Fineman with his life and Fineman's desire to help Johnson experience more of what life has to offer propels both men toward new chapters in their lives.
Sometimes bringing together an all-star cast has a negative effect on a film. Surprisingly, the presence of such stellar actors enhances the quality of "Reign Over Me." Sandler delivers a truly stunning performance. Not only does he prove he can be more than a goofball onscreen, but he is also extremely convincing in doing so, masking his sadness and guilt over his family's demise with a boisterous and youthful desire to attend Mel Brooks movies and party all night. When Fineman is questioned about his past, he forcefully withdraws into his world of music. It can be difficult to watch a man in such misery, but this is easily one of Sandler's best performances in years.
Sandler doesn't necessarily hog the spotlight, either. Cheadle, who has demonstrated extraordinary acting talent in the past, has not lost his touch. He paints a fitting image of a successful family man yearning to break free from the obligations in which he's mired. He has fallen into a routine where he allows himself to be pushed around by his wife and coworkers, but when Fineman helps Johnson stand up for himself, audiences will cheer for Johnson.
The other performances in this film do not necessarily stand out as much as Sandler's or Cheadle's superb takes, but they certainly hold their own. Liv Tyler delivers a surprisingly good performance as Angela Oakhurst, a young psychiatrist. Saffron Burrows is absolutely hilarious as Donna Remar, an attractive young woman with a crush on Johnson who mistakenly walks into Fineman and Johnson's lives at the most inopportune moments imaginable.
"Reign Over Me" doesn't pull any punches when it comes to dialogue. The movie may be about coping with the Sept. 11 attacks, but the dialogue finds humor in every situation, no matter how bleak, preventing the story from becoming sappy. Fineman even makes fun of Tyler's character, repeatedly commenting that she looks too young to be a psychiatrist. Political issues and current events are nonexistent; "Reign Over Me" is simply a film about two old friends helping each other overcome survivor's guilt in the wake of an event such as Sept. 11.
