I promised that I would review every movie I watch in 2007, and in keeping with that promise, here is my review of Reign Over Me starring Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle.

Reign Over Me is a movie about a man named Charlie Fineman (Sandler) who lost his entire family — including the pet poodle — in the 9/11 tragedy. He has retreated from the rest of the world and suffers from a certain level of amnesia concerning everything to do with his life prior to 9/11. One of those things that he doesn’t quite remember are his college days, days that he spent with now dental cosmetic surgeon Dr. Alan Johnson (Cheadle). Alan tries hard to get into Charlie’s head, trying to get him to remember, but his attempts just bring about intense rage on Fineman’s part. Reign Over Me is a touching, powerful movie for anyone who has ever lost a loved one. It deals with post-traumatic stress disorder, intimacy issues, and old Mel Brooks movies.

Don Cheadle is great, as usual, and while I had a hard time taking Adam Sandler seriously in a role like this — his childlike, comedic presence would pop up from time to time — I think he did a good job, considering he is only now trying to crossover from the realms of slapstick comedy to something a little more dramatic. He doesn’t quite have the same level of crossover appeal as Jim Carrey, Robin Williams or Steve Carell, but it’s certainly a move in the right direction.

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Yes, he suffers from overacting, but it didn’t bother me all too much. What did bother me was that this movie was long… far too long for its own good. After you factor in the trailers, commercials and so forth, the total running time was about two-and-a-half hours. Yes, there was material there that was captivating, but there was also a lot of fluff that added nothing to the main storyline. I’m not going to ruin it for you, but near the end, there’s a moment where you think the movie is drawing to a close and we just have to wait for that final concluding moment before the credits roll. Unfortunately, you still have about another half-hour to go from there.

I applaud Adam Sandler for taking on this role — he looks a little too much like Bob Dylan, according to Darren Barefoot — as it allows him to exercise a bit of drama, stretching his acting more than a hair away from his usual Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore-type fare. Jada Pinkett Smith also did just fine, but it wasn’t a performance that’ll capture anyone’s attention.

Overall, I rate Reign Over Me 3.5 stars out of five.