Reiner

The absolute horror show of American politics has made it difficult for me to come to grips with the absolute horror show of the passing of Rob and Michelle Reiner. It hits harder because of our President’s decision to experience explosive diarrhea over Reiner’s memory, and it hits even harder in my particular case because I watched Reiner’s last film, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues on Saturday morning. FWIW the sequel is worth some minor chuckles, an appropriate footnote to the subject matter in the same way that any “farewell tour” is an appropriate footnote to the legacy of a great band.

The 1980s are usually regarded as a cinematic wasteland, especially when compared the heights achieved in the 70s and the 90s. I’ve come to believe that this is at least somewhat in error; the great films of the 1980s are not the self-consciously serious masterworks of the bookend decades, but rather the standard Hollywood productions that were regarded at the time (and to a degree now) as some flavor of middlebrow. The Empire Strikes Back is a great film; so are the first and third Indiana Jones films, Die Hard, Predator, Aliens, and so forth. This is not to understate the relevance of the best “highbrow” movies of the decade, from Raging Bull to Wings of Desire to Do the Right Thing, but rather to recognize that Spielberg/Cameron/McTiernan made some damn fine and enduringly entertaining films.

Reiner’s run from 1984 (This is Spinal Tap) to 1992 (A Few Good Men) fits comfortably into this family. Each of Tap, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, and A Few Good Men remain watchable today with only a hint of age. Tap and the Princess Bride are of course stone classics that are still enjoyed by new audiences, but the others aren’t far behind. If you want to contend that the cracks are showing by A Few Good Men I won’t argue, but it’s still a helluva fun movie to watch (I sometimes wonder if Clint Eastwood wouldn’t have been better even better as Jessep than Nicholson, but everyone turns in memorable performances). People still watch, talk about, and love those movies today, and that’s as much of a tribute to a director’s talent as you could possibly ask.

Anyway… instead of watching the President verbally shit himself tonight, I’m going to watch the Princess Bride. Someone let me know how it all turns out, please.