Reign Over Me (2007)

A man who lost his family in the September 11 attack on New York City runs into his old college roommate. Rekindling the friendship is the one thing that appears able to help the man recover from his grief.

Director:

Mike Binder

Writer:

Mike Binder

Stars:

Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adam Sandler	...	Charlie Fineman
Don Cheadle	...	Alan Johnson
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Janeane Johnson
Liv Tyler	...	Angela Oakhurst
Saffron Burrows	...	Donna Remar
Donald Sutherland	...	Judge Raines
Robert Klein	...	Jonathan Timpleman
Melinda Dillon	...	Ginger Timpleman
Mike Binder	...	Bryan Sugarman
Jonathan Banks	...	Stelter
Rae Allen	...	Adell Modell
Paula Newsome	...	Melanie
John de Lancie	...	Nigel Pennington
Paul Butler	...	George Johnson
Camille LaChe Smith	...	Cherie Johnson (as Camille LaChe-Smith)

Storyline

Alan Johnson has everything he needs to get through life: a good job, a beautiful and loving wife, and their wonderful children. Yet he feels isolated because he finds having a hard-working job and managing a family too much to handle and has no one to talk to about it. Charlie Fineman, on the other hand, doesn't have a job or a family. He used to have both until a terrible loss, and the grief caused him to quit his job and isolate himself from everyone around him. As it turns out, Alan and Charlie were roommates in college, and a chance encounter one night rekindles the friendship they shared. But when Charlie's problems become too much to deal with, Alan is determined to help Charlie come out of his emotional abyss.

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Plot Keywords:

grief | mental breakdown | depression | post september 11 2001 | attempted suicide by cop | 

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Taglines:

In a city of millions, finding one can change your whole life

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Empty City

Filming Locations:

Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,460,690, 23 March 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$19,661,987, 29 April 2007

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,756,556

Company Credits

Production Co:

Relativity Media,Madison 23,Sunlight Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some interior scenes were filmed in Del Rio Diner on Kings Highway in Brooklyn, New York. The diner shut down for two weeks and installed flat screen televisions for the production.

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Goofs

In the scene where Dr. Johnson first meets Charlie on the street, the cars behind Charlie vary from shot to shot. In some there is a big white truck to the left and a car with flashing lights on the left. In other shots, there are only a couple of dark cars parked there

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Quotes

[first lines]
Melanie: New patient?
New Dental Patient: Yes, I was referred by my lawyer about veneers.
[big grin]
Melanie: You're a new patient, that's all I need to know. Fill this out so we know who to contact in case we loose you in the chair.
New Dental Patient: [speechless]
Melanie: That was a joke, sweetie, I was being funny.
[abruptly slides the window closed]

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Alternate Versions

A scene removed from the UK version of the film is the montage of scenes with Angela Oakhurst (Liv Tyler) consoling Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler) with the original version of 'Love, Reign o'er me' playing in the background.

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Connections

Features You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

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Soundtracks

No Trouble
Written and Performed by Shawn Barry
Courtesy of Fundamental Music

User Reviews

An unexpected good dark comedy/drama from Sandler

I saw this at a screening last night too. I was totally blown away at how much better this movie was than what I expected. Not many movies can combine dark comedy and current event drama and not have it fall apart in the conclusion.

I won't bother rehashing the plot too much because I think the less you know about this movie going into it makes it that much better. But I will say that Adam Sandler's performance was really refreshing and real. He was funny, and much funnier than most of his most recent comedies. Don Cheadle was believable as always.

This movie isn't funny like Borat or Billy Madison but it has a good pace about it. I'd say 90% of the audience laughed for most of the film. Midway through the movie slows down to address the drama end of things and does a really nice job of tying it all together.

I also thought it was really cool how instead of playing up the whole black friend/white friend thing they chose to just ignore it and focus on the relationships themselves.