Rob Reiner: 8 Essential Movies

Rob Reiner may not have been an auteur on the level of contemporaries like Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg, but you’d be hard pressed to find a director whose filmography had a bigger, broader impact on popular culture than Reiner’s over a roughly 10-year stretch from the mid-Eighties to mid-Nineties. Reiner had a nimble hand, working across genres from mockumentary to rom-com to thrillers — an underrated skill few directors can claim — and letting stories shine through his actors, who he treated with palpable tenderness onscreen. If there is a hallmark that unifies and defines his work, it’s an unwavering humanity and belief that our better nature will always prevail. Here are eight classic films he contributed to the American canon.

• ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ (1984)

  Music’s heaviest genre hit critical mass in 1983 when “heavy metal day” at the US Festival attracted an estimated 375,000 headbangers in May and, six months later, Quiet Riot notched Billboard’s first metal Number One. A year later, three comedians — Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer — starred in the metal mockumentary, This Is Spinal Tap. Reiner, who directed and co-wrote the picture, played straight-man documentarian Martin “Marty” Di Bergi, following the band on a comically disastrous U.S. tour. The film’s gags would become legendary among music fans: There’s an amplifier that goes “one louder” (to 11), an all-black album cover, a miniscule Stonehenge stage set, and a “shit sandwich” record review. Some of the movie’s jokes even foreshadowed and mirrored real life events. In fact, as ridiculous as the movie seemed, Ozzy Osbourne thought it was a genuine documentary. “When I went to see it, I was the only person in the audience that wasn’t laughing… because those things actually happened,” he once told Conan O’Brien. “When they got lost going to the stage, that happened [to me]!” —Kory Grow

• ‘Stand By Me’ (1986)

  Reiner took the inner lives of young people seriously. It was one of his gifts, never more foregrounded than in this coming-of-age story that defined a generation. Based on the short story “The Body” by Stephen King, this tale of four young men trying to find the body of a missing boy works because it paints its main characters — Wil Wheaton’s sensitive Gordie, River Phoenix’s tough-but-tender Chris, Corey Feldman’s volatile Teddy, and Jerry O’Connell’s sweet and dopey Vern — with deep humanity and heart. Nominated for the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, it’s another project for which Reiner’s direction often doesn’t get enough credit. He guided these young actors, especially Phoenix and Wheaton, to performances that felt like people we knew or even people we were. Perhaps that’s because Reiner connected with the story, too. “Stand By Me means more to me than any of the other films I’ve made,” he told The Guardian in 2021. “It was the first time I did a film that reflected my own personal sensibility; it had a mixture of melancholy, humor, and nostalgia… The music I listened to and the feelings I had in relation to my father, I injected into the film. When it came out and was accepted it validated me.” —Brian Tallerico

• ‘The Princess Bride’ (1987)

  This action-romance-fantasy-adventure story was a disappointing box-office draw that became a huge cult classic in the decades following its release. Directors Norman Jewison, Robert Redford, and even Francois Truffaut reportedly had inquired about adapting its source material, the 1973 William Goldman book of the same name. But it was Reiner who won over the author. The first actor he brought on: his buddy Billy Crystal, who helped set the cutting-yet-kind tone of the entire film. The bedtime story-within-the-story follows farm boy turned pirate Westley (Carey Elwes), who must save Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) from the evil Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon). Joining him on his mission are the intense swashbuckler Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), who is set on avenging his father’s death, and sweet oaf Fezzik (Andre the Giant), who just wants to help. There’s fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles, and yes, even some kissing, resulting in a childhood touchstone that holds up almost 40 years later. To have anyone else behind the camera on this would be inconceivable. —Elisabeth Garber-Paul

• ‘When Harry Met Sally …’ (1989)

  There was a time when Hollywood minted frothy rom-coms, but by 1989 they had become hopelessly schmaltzy box-office duds. Not so When Harry Met Sally…, an unsentimental, knee-slapping tearjerker that reinvented the beloved genre by asking the very modern question: Can men and women be friends? (Maybe.) Reiner deftly manages Nora Ephron’s tart screenplay and the easygoing talents of his stars, Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, teasing out two timeless performances. As a director, he naturally finds messy humans funny. Ryan’s fake orgasm at Katz’s Delicatessen is one of cinema’s most famous scenes, and “I’ll have what she’s having” is cemented in the popular lexicon. When Harry Met Sally… transcends the traditional rom-com with inventive larks: real-life lovebird interviews, 12 years’ worth of unexpected time jumps, and hilarious supporting turns from Bruno Kirby and Carrie Fisher. But it’s the roller-coaster, will-they-won’t-they chemistry between the leads — and the warm, forgiving eye behind the camera — that makes this one of the best comedies of all time. —John DeVore

• ‘Misery’ (1990)

  There’s only one film based on a Stephen King book to win an Oscar and it’s not The Shining or The Shawshank Redemption. Relatively unknown at the time of her casting, future Oscar winner Kathy Bates shook the movie world when she stepped into the shoes of the terrifying Annie Wilkes, deranged Number One fan of James Caan’s celebrated author Paul Sheldon. Tapping into issues around fan culture and what artists owe their most loyal supporters, Misery now seems ahead of its time thematically; but it was a bolt of lightning to experience back then, a thriller perfectly calibrated — thanks to Reiner’s direction — in terms of how it ratchets up the tension. Reiner and writer William Goldman also incorporate humor into the horror, making us laugh uncomfortably at Annie’s behavior while we wonder what the hell she’s going to do next with the man she’s taken prisoner in her home. She was a true “dirty birdy.” —B.T.

• ‘A Few Good Men’ (1992)

  Go back and read the reviews that were published when this Best Picture-nominated courtroom drama came out, and you’ll notice one particular sentiment expressed again and again: “This is the sort of sharp entertainment Hollywood used to make all the time.” Those words are even truer more than 30 years later. Working from Aaron Sorkin’s electric screenplay, Reiner tapped into perhaps his greatest strength as an actor’s director — someone who knew how to stay out of the way of his talented cast, giving them the room to deliver a good script’s best moments. His classical filmmaking style was also crucial here, as Tom Cruise’s hotshot lawyer goes after Jack Nicholson’s arrogant colonel, their verbal parrying and thrusting all the juicier because of Reiner’s crisp, unfussy staging. Never forget, however, that the director wasn’t just making thrilling popcorn fare: This film’s advocacy for truth and accountability echoed Reiner’s own stubborn belief in an America that might, occasionally, live up to its highest ideals. —Tim Grierson

• ‘The American President’ (1995)

  Practically a rough draft for Aaron Sorkin’s later triumph, The West Wing, this endearing romantic comedy was where the writer first started mulling the inner workings of the presidency. But it took Rob Reiner to make The American President sing. The premise is perfect: A kind, progressive president (Michael Douglas) mourning the death of his wife falls for a strong-willed lobbyist (Annette Bening) who feels he isn’t doing enough in his job to substantially improve people’s lives. In another age, maybe Frank Capra or Preston Sturges would have been behind the camera, but during Reiner’s heyday, none of his contemporaries could have delivered a love story this charming, fundamentally decent, and stirringly idealistic. The film has just the right combination of pathos and polish, making the most of its dramatic moments while also savoring the sexy, witty rapport between Douglas and Bening. Martin Sheen played Douglas’ chief of staff — the veteran actor would get a promotion when The West Wing came around. But with The American President, Reiner first suggested the enormous potential of capturing the messy, colorful humanity of the people who work at the White House. —T.G.

• ‘Spinal Tap II: The End Continues’ (2025)

  When Reiner talked to Rolling Stone back in August, he admitted he’d never really thought about making a sequel to his beloved directorial debut. But after Harry Shearer won a long legal battle to regain the rights to the 1984 cult classic, the director found himself surrounded by his old cohorts and wondering aloud: Should we do something with Tap again? One of them came up with the idea of reuniting the aged rockers for a final concert. The result plays like one long, affectionate farewell to the concept that started it all — a playful poke at the idea that even if it’s now too loud, you’re never too old to rock & roll. They even got Paul McCartney and Elton John to join in on the fun. (Be careful around those Stonehenge monuments, Sir Elton!) The fact that this would end up being Reiner’s last project now makes everything around Spinal Tap II feel bittersweet. But his ability to bring the story full circle dials our gratitude up to 11. —David Fear