\n<\/p>\n
The entertainment world is reeling from the shocking deaths of TV star and film director <\/a>Rob Reiner<\/a> and his wife Michele.\u00a0At this point, the\u00a0facts of the case<\/a> as they are known so far are almost too horrifying to contemplate.<\/p>\n Whatever happens in the investigation into the Reiners\u2019 deaths, this much is true and will remain true forever: The first decade of Rob Reiner\u2019s\u00a0work behind the camera is about as good of a start to a filmmaker\u2019s career in Hollywood history. Thankfully, many of those\u00a0movies he made in the 1980s and \u201990s are available to stream at home right now. (Many but not all; if you want to watch\u00a0The Sure Thing<\/em>, you might need to find a physical copy.)<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a rundown of\u00a0six Rob Reiner favorites \u2014 including his most recent comedy, which was just added to streaming in the last few days \u2014 that you can watch at home right now in tribute to one of the most versatile and reliable\u00a0American directors of the\u00a0late 20th century.<\/p>\n Reiner wasted no time making an impact on Hollywood; his feature directorial debut essentially invented a comedy subgenre. There were fake documentaries before\u00a0This Is Spinal Tap<\/em>, but few as convincing in their conjuring of a reality and everything in it. Reiner directed the film and co-starred as bumbling documentarian Marty Di Bergi, who follows \u201cEngland\u2019s loudest band\u201d Spinal Tap (Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer) as they embark on a disastrous tour of America. While\u00a0Spinal Tap\u00a0<\/em>was not a massive hit in its initial release, it became one of the\u00a0definitive\u00a0cult classics of the 1980s, not to mention one of the funniest films of all time.<\/p>\n This Is Spinal Tap\u00a0<\/i>is currently streaming on HBO Max.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> The Best Netflix Movies of the Year<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Reiner named his production company, Castle Rock Entertainment, after the setting of his\u00a0iconic coming-of-age drama, based on the short story \u201cThe Body\u201d by Stephen King about four young men \u2014 Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O\u2019Connell \u2014 who set off to locate the dead body of a missing boy. One thing that unites all of Reiner\u2019s best work regardless of genre is his deft touch with actors, thanks to his own experiences in front of the camera. In\u00a0Stand By Me<\/em>, he\u00a0helped\u00a0his\u00a0quartet of young leads deliver four of the best child performances in film history, and he rounded out his terrific cast with more\u00a0great actors like Kiefer Sutherland, John Cusack, and Richard Dreyfuss as the narrator and the older version of Wheaton\u2019s Gordie Lachance.<\/p>\n Stand By Me\u00a0<\/em>is currently streaming on Netflix.<\/p>\n Like This Is Spinal Tap<\/i>, Reiner\u2019s\u00a0The Princess Bride<\/em> was only a mild box-office hit in its initial theatrical release. Time and countless cable viewings gradually transformed it into one of the most beloved children\u2019s films of the 20th century. A kindly grandfather (Peter Falk)\u00a0reads a story to his sick grandson (Fred Savage), which turns out to be the adventure of the brave Westley (Cary Elwes) to rescue his beloved Buttercup (Robin Wright) from the clutches of a gang of crooks, including fast-talking Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) and sword-wielding Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin). Although ostensibly a film for kids, it has all the wit, romance, and swashbuckling excitement their parents could ever wish for.<\/p>\n The Princess Bride\u00a0<\/em>is currently streaming on Disney+.<\/p>\n One reason why it took Reiner a long time to get his due: Unlike some auteurs who rework the same themes and ideas over and over again,\u00a0he was never content to repeat himself ad infinitum. For example: In between a post-modern fairy tale and a dark psychological horror film (Misery<\/em>, one of his most underrated films), Reiner directed maybe the definitive romantic comedy of the late 20th century,\u00a0When Harry Met Sally<\/em>… Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan star as the title characters, who keep bumping into each other, always as friends, but then\u00a0gradually begin to contemplate a more serious relationship. It\u2019s now one of the most imitated and quoted films of the 1980s, and definitely worth a revisit if you haven\u2019t seen it in a while.<\/p>\n When Harry Met Sally…\u00a0<\/em>is currently streaming on Starz.<\/p>\nThis Is Spinal Tap<\/a><\/em><\/h3>\n
Stand By Me<\/a><\/em><\/h3>\n
The Princess Bride<\/a><\/em><\/h3>\n
When Harry Met Sally…<\/a><\/em><\/h3>\n
Albert Brooks: Defending\u00a0My Life<\/em><\/h3>\n