Rob Reiner was not a director excessively known by the general public but it is difficult for a good moviegoer not to know several of his films. Because who hasn’t ever said ‘My name is Iñigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die’?
One of the most popular phrases in the history of cinema, uttered by Mandy Patinkin (Iñigo Montoya) in the delightful ‘The Princess Bride’ (1987), one of the essential titles by Reiner, a director who was also an actor, a committed human rights activist and a convinced democrat who almost ran against Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Rob Reiner: These are some of his most outstanding films, in chronological order:
‘This is Spinal Tap’ (1984)
Reiner’s directorial debut after his television experience was this ‘mockumentary’, a genre he made fashionable. Documentary style to tell a fictional story, which in his case served to set in motion a crazy comedy about a British music band, one of whose members was the filmmaker himself. It was so successful in the United States that the term ‘Spinal Tap’ was used to denote a group that took itself too seriously.
The Sure Thing’ (1985)
A film that is part of the wave of romantic comedies and friendship that proliferated in the eighties. It had its best asset in the protagonist, John Cusack, one of those actors capable of lifting any project, although from the cinematographic point of view, it brought little novelty.
‘Stand by Me’ (1986)
One of the great films of the passage from childhood to adolescence, with a wonderful story in which a group of children get into a tremendous adventure that will serve them to mature at full speed. River Phoenix, who was destined to be one of the greatest actors of all time but who died at the age of 23, was the great star of this film, which also featured Jerry O’Connell, Corey Feldman and Kiefer Sutherland and was adapted from a story by Stpehen King.
The Princess Bride’ (1987)
One of the best stories in cinema with a perfect cast -Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Patinkin, André ‘the giant’ or Wallace Shawn- with the exact doses of tenderness, humor, adventure, love and small doses of surreal horror. Everything came together to make this film that brought to the screen a famous book by William Goldman go down in history and become one of the favorites of any child or adult with the desire to dream. With unforgettable music and, of course, with Iñigo Montoya.
‘When Harry Met Sally…’ (1989)
A faked orgasm in a restaurant brought Meg Ryan, the public’s favorite actress of the eighties and nineties, to the highest heights of popularity. A single scene that sums up this love story between two friends who spend years together until they decide to face their feelings. Billy Cristal gave the perfect counterpoint in a film that had a great script by Nora Ephron.
Misery’ (1990)
Another Stephen King story that Reiner made into a movie. In this case, that of a woman (Kathy Bates) who plays the good Samaritan and picks up a famous writer (James Caan) who has had an accident on a snowy road. But what seems like a nice story transmutes into terror with her obsession with one of the novelist’s characters. Bates won an Oscar for his brutal performance in a film that led viewers to become much more wary of innocent strangers.
A Few Good Men’ (1992)
Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore were three stars in the early nineties and Rob Reiner managed to bring them together in a story that mixed military codes and judicial investigation, with a script by Aaron Sorkin that worked like clockwork and was the mirror in which later trial films looked. A curiosity: the events at the center of the film take place at the Guantanamo base (Cuba).
‘The American President’ (1995)
Not as well rounded as previous works, but this romantic comedy that plays with the personal life of the President of the United States (Michael Douglas) and his relationship with an environmental activist (Annette Buzzy) is a good entertainment plan with more than average quality.
The Bucket List’ (2007)
Reiner chose two greats, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, a safe bet to give life to two opposing men who meet in a hospital room when they are both diagnosed with terminal cancer. An ode to friendship in a story about unfulfilled desires that the two actors embroider.
‘Being Charlie’ (2015)
Reiner’s most personal film, with a screenplay by his son Nick, who poured into the text his drug addiction problems and the time when he lived on the street. A film that went unnoticed at the time and that unfortunately has returned to the news with the murder of Reiner and his wife, with his son Nick as a suspect, reported Agencia EFE.
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