Rob Reiner’s defining legacy: How late filmmaker redefined the fundamentals of cinematic storytelling

Rob Reiner returned to the world of film mere three months before his shockingly devastating death, with Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, released in September.

A sequel to his 1984 release This Is Spinal Tap, the film perhaps did not exactly live up to its original’s legacy but it never really needed to.

Reiner’s reincarnation of his groundbreaking cinema outing from more than four decades ago succeeded in doing what it was expected to — remind the audiences of a genius lost to time.

Though the newly deceased 78-year-old artist had pivoted towards acting and straight genre directorials as of late, his legacy remains preserved in the same straightforward genres he helped redefine.

While his Stephen King adaptations — Stand by Me (1986) and Misery (1990) — were among the almost incomparable run he had at the box office between 1984 and 1992, four distinct cinematic categories shall remain forever indebted to Rob Reiner’s filmmaking flair.

Mockumentary: This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Rob Reiner made the traditionally rare genre of mockumentary — a faux, documentary-style project — his own with the film featuring three fictional rockstars and himself as the filmmaker shadowing their work.

Despite The Beatles making the genre famous with A Hard Day’s Night (1964), the musical comedy which often passes for a mockumentary, This Is Spinal Tap cemented itself with invented characters and a gritty parody of its subjects’ world, which nearly elevates itself to the more refined level of satire.

Fantasy: The Princess Bride (1987)

Adapted from William Goldman’s book of the same name, The Princess Bride presented a charmingly dizzying concoction of fantasy, comedy, adventure, and satire which set the tone of the many copy cat fantasies to follow it, but none of which could quite replicate its wit and magic.

With just the right fits among its cast, including Reiner’s friend and frequent collaborator Christopher Guest, The Princess Bride seamlessly blended present and period to revitalise its genre.

Rom com: When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

Speaking of revitalising genres, it doesn’t get better than When Harry Met Sally… — a romantic comedy to outdo all romantic comedies before and since.

With a screenplay penned by Reiner and his professionally aligned writing partner, writer-director Nora Ephron, the film combined the male and female perspective to such a degree that the oft-asked question, “can a man and a woman ever just be friends?” is almost always traced back to it.

Courtroom drama: A Few Good Men (1992)

Rob Reiner adapted A Few Good Men from a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin — who in turn had written the film treatment based on his play of the same name — at a time when courtroom drama seemed like a genre which had said all it needed to say by that point.

Starring a mesmerising cast featuring Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon, and more, A Few Good Men is pure American storytelling in the best way possible, told by an American artist at the very peak of his talent.