Recently we absorbed the tragic news of Rob Reiner’s passing, along with his wife Michele. I find myself grieving. Circumstances surrounding their deaths are beyond horrific, and I am so, so very sorry. Though Reiner’s political leanings were far from mine, I’ve always admired his work. Creative genius, even in its roughest forms, I believe reflects the glory of our Creator. Rob Reiner was a creative genius, and arguably one of the greatest movie makers of our time.
The son of famed comedy legend Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner came to prominence on the classic TV sitcom All in the Family. Reiner played Mike “Meathead” Stivic, the perfect foil to his Nixon-loving father-in-law Archie Bunker. For five seasons, All in the Family was the number one TV show in America.
Reiner came into his own, however, as a director, making movies. Known as an actor’s director, his string of hits in the 1980s and early 1990s cemented his standing in Hollywood. These included This is Spinal Tap (1984), The Sure Thing (1985), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally… (1989), Misery (1990), and A Few Good Men (1992).
But, in my humble, if twisted opinion, Reiner’s greatest work was his epic boyhood story, Stand by Me (1986). The movie is poetry on film. And yes, before the movie world was digitized, in 1986 Stand by Me was shot on 35mm film (Kodak’s Eastman 100T Color Negative Film 5247) using Panavision cameras.
The movie is based on Stephen King’s 1982 novella The Body. Set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Oregon, the movie has an amazing soundtrack, featuring songs from the 1950s and early 1960s from groups like The Coasters, The Bobettes, The Del-Vikings and more. Included is the iconic song that gives the film its title, Stand by Me, by Ben E. King.
Reiner’s unforgettable movie stars Wil Wheaton (as Gordie Lachance), the late River Phoenix (as Gordie’s best friend Chris Chambers), with Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell (as friends Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio). The story centers around a journey to find the dead body of a missing boy, undertaken by the four friends over Labor Day weekend in 1959, as remembered through the eyes and words of Gordie.
An underlying theme in the movie is death. One of the most difficult things we are forced to do in life is process grief. As a boy, Gordie faces the trauma of losing his older brother Denny (played by John Cusack) in a Jeep accident. As an adult, the story begins with Gordie reading a newspaper article about the death of his childhood friend, Chris Chambers. Much of the movie is an extended flashback, with Gordie remembering and writing and grieving. It is interesting to note that Richard Dreyfuss, who portrays adult Gordie as a writer, was in real life a childhood friend of Rob Reiner.
This movie takes me back to my boyhood. I was Gordie, the same skinny, sensitive kid in a ballcap, destined to become a writer. My best friend at age twelve was Mike O’Rafferty, the spitting image of Chris Chambers. Mike and his brother Billy were my best boyhood companions. My first year in junior high, I met the best friend I’ve ever had in life, Danny Reed. I miss those guys.
In my youth, we were just like Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern. We swore like sailors. It was a bad thing. Stand by Me is rated R, primarily because of the swearing. But that’s how we really were as boys (sorry Mom). In the movie the boys play cards in their tree house. For me and my slew-foot friends, most of our card playing was done on the dusty floor of cabin #13 at 4-H camp every summer. We played poker, five card draw, for pennies and peanuts. Like Gordie, I was a reader, spending my money on magazines (True West, Sports Afield, Guns & Ammo, and Fur, Fish & Game). In our dirt road neighborhood, we even had a junk yard dog, just like in the movie. Our menace was a giant, coal black German Shepherd named “Ace.” His back was as high as the seat on my bike. Ace would chase us boys. I could outrun him for short distances on my bike, but it was always close, and breathtaking. Along with playing baseball, shooting marbles, and prowling the hills with a .22 rifle, as boys we savored adventure. In a time when even protective parents didn’t worry so much about our safety, boys could be boys. Our biggest danger was being caught by Old Man Christianson who patrolled the backroads of his property in a Cadillac, with a .38 revolver on the front seat beside him. We were always on the lookout and afraid of being shot when sneaking over to Foxy’s Lake, hiding our bikes in the nearby eucalyptus grove before we explored. The danger made it all the more fun. So much of this movie speaks to my childhood. My Dad even drove an old 1957 Chevy truck (long bed in faded orange), just like you see in the movie.
Boyhood friends leave a mark. You never have any friends later on like those you had when you were twelve. Thank you, Rob Reiner, for helping us remember…
© 2025 Jody Dyer
typewriterweekly.com
The life’s work of some is more visible than others. You might build a solid business, grow a strong family, or cultivate a beautiful garden, and no one ever notices. But make a good movie and all the world knows your name. So it was with Rob Reiner.
Recently we absorbed the tragic news of Rob Reiner’s passing, along with his wife Michele. I find myself grieving. Circumstances surrounding their deaths are beyond horrific, and I am so, so very sorry. Though Reiner’s political leanings were far from mine, I’ve always admired his work. Creative genius, even in its roughest forms, I believe reflects the glory of our Creator. Rob Reiner was a creative genius, and arguably one of the greatest movie makers of our time.
The son of famed comedy legend Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner came to prominence on the classic TV sitcom All in the Family. Reiner played Mike “Meathead” Stivic, the perfect foil to his Nixon-loving father-in-law Archie Bunker. For five seasons, All in the Family was the number one TV show in America.
Reiner came into his own, however, as a director, making movies. Known as an actor’s director, his string of hits in the 1980s and early 1990s cemented his standing in Hollywood. These included This is Spinal Tap (1984), The Sure Thing (1985), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally… (1989), Misery (1990), and A Few Good Men (1992).
But, in my humble, if twisted opinion, Reiner’s greatest work was his epic boyhood story, Stand by Me (1986). The movie is poetry on film. And yes, before the movie world was digitized, in 1986 Stand by Me was shot on 35mm film (Kodak’s Eastman 100T Color Negative Film 5247) using Panavision cameras.
The movie is based on Stephen King’s 1982 novella The Body. Set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Oregon, the movie has an amazing soundtrack, featuring songs from the 1950s and early 1960s from groups like The Coasters, The Bobettes, The Del-Vikings and more. Included is the iconic song that gives the film its title, Stand by Me, by Ben E. King.
Reiner’s unforgettable movie stars Wil Wheaton (as Gordie Lachance), the late River Phoenix (as Gordie’s best friend Chris Chambers), with Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell (as friends Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio). The story centers around a journey to find the dead body of a missing boy, undertaken by the four friends over Labor Day weekend in 1959, as remembered through the eyes and words of Gordie.
An underlying theme in the movie is death. One of the most difficult things we are forced to do in life is process grief. As a boy, Gordie faces the trauma of losing his older brother Denny (played by John Cusack) in a Jeep accident. As an adult, the story begins with Gordie reading a newspaper article about the death of his childhood friend, Chris Chambers. Much of the movie is an extended flashback, with Gordie remembering and writing and grieving. It is interesting to note that Richard Dreyfuss, who portrays adult Gordie as a writer, was in real life a childhood friend of Rob Reiner.
This movie takes me back to my boyhood. I was Gordie, the same skinny, sensitive kid in a ballcap, destined to become a writer. My best friend at age twelve was Mike O’Rafferty, the spitting image of Chris Chambers. Mike and his brother Billy were my best boyhood companions. My first year in junior high, I met the best friend I’ve ever had in life, Danny Reed. I miss those guys.
In my youth, we were just like Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern. We swore like sailors. It was a bad thing. Stand by Me is rated R, primarily because of the swearing. But that’s how we really were as boys (sorry Mom). In the movie the boys play cards in their tree house. For me and my slew-foot friends, most of our card playing was done on the dusty floor of cabin #13 at 4-H camp every summer. We played poker, five card draw, for pennies and peanuts. Like Gordie, I was a reader, spending my money on magazines (True West, Sports Afield, Guns & Ammo, and Fur, Fish & Game). In our dirt road neighborhood, we even had a junk yard dog, just like in the movie. Our menace was a giant, coal black German Shepherd named “Ace.” His back was as high as the seat on my bike. Ace would chase us boys. I could outrun him for short distances on my bike, but it was always close, and breathtaking. Along with playing baseball, shooting marbles, and prowling the hills with a .22 rifle, as boys we savored adventure. In a time when even protective parents didn’t worry so much about our safety, boys could be boys. Our biggest danger was being caught by Old Man Christianson who patrolled the backroads of his property in a Cadillac, with a .38 revolver on the front seat beside him. We were always on the lookout and afraid of being shot when sneaking over to Foxy’s Lake, hiding our bikes in the nearby eucalyptus grove before we explored. The danger made it all the more fun. So much of this movie speaks to my childhood. My Dad even drove an old 1957 Chevy truck (long bed in faded orange), just like you see in the movie.
Boyhood friends leave a mark. You never have any friends later on like those you had when you were twelve. Thank you, Rob Reiner, for helping us remember…
© 2025 Jody Dyer
typewriterweekly.com