We Could Use a Comforting Story About Rob Reiner Right Now |
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"As you wish." In 1987, Rob Reiner's film The Princess Bride immortalized those words as a stand-in for the phrase "I love you." Every time you hear that phrase in the movie, it really means this powerful other thing. It's a code between two people who care deeply for each other—told through the tale of the swashbuckling Wesley and the princess Buttercup—but it's also a secret way of expressing love in the everyday framing device that bookends the story. Reiner thought this was the true point of the movie when he set out to adapt William Goldman's 1973 novel of the same name. "When people say, 'What is the film The Princess Bride about?' I say, 'It's about how a sick boy, who doesn't want to see his grandfather, is brought closer to his grandfather over the sharing of a book,'" Reiner told me in 2003. For the director, stories were a way of uniting people. Film was his way to say "As you wish," like a covert language for delivering comfort and reassurance. The Princess Bride hilariously featured six-fingered enemies, medieval poison-testers, and characters with names like Prince Humperdinck. But at the heart of every one of his films, Reiner sought to expose starker and harder truths that beg us to be kinder and more merciful to each other. When someone passes away, stories of who they were aid us through the pain. We share them at the funeral, in eulogies, and in jokes told at the wake. We remember the lost person for who they were and all the good that they did during their time in the world. After the news broke on Monday morning that Reiner and his wife Michele were found dead in their California home, stories are the only way through the unspeakable sorrow. Fortunately, there are many happy stories about Reiner to help stave back the bleak circumstances of his death. I met Rob many times over the years covering films, and he was absolutely the big, boisterous teddy-bear of a man that we saw on the screen. He was the bleeding-heart liberal Mike Stivic from All In The Family, forever dubbed "Meathead" by his surly father-in-law Archie. But Reiner was no dummy (and neither was Mike, for the record.) Behind the camera, Reiner truly was the raconteur and wry wit who made us see ourselves in the comedic characters we laughed at from This Is Spinal Tap and When Harry Met Sally... He could break our hearts with Stand By Me, terrify us with Misery, and make us question the blurry areas of right and wrong in A Few Good Men. He forced us to think and to feel things deeply. He really was, in a sense, the kindly grandfather who keeps everyone entertained with larger than life tales. |
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Reiner directing the film North in 1994. / Getty Images |
Naturally, Esquire's editors could hardly think about anything today aside from the distressing death of Rob Reiner. Police are still investigating exactly what happened, but it's been a sad day. Aside from the legacies of The Prince Bride, Stand By Me, and countless others, Reiner's When Harry Met Sally… is easily one of the greatest movies about New York City—if not the greatest. The film's interviews with sweet, real-life married couples bring a tear to my eye every time I watch. Let me know your favorite Reiner film by writing me a note at josh.rosenberg@hearst.com. Did someone forward you this email? Sign up here. |
The Continuing Adventures of the Esquire Entertainment Desk |
SNL star Bowen Yang shared some knowledge with Esquire about what he's learned over the years of preparing for live comedy, producing a podcast, and co-starring in blockbuster films such as Wicked: For Good. His advice? "Everyone has to have a dark night of the soul where they understand that no one's going to do it for them," he says. Read the interview here. We kicked off The Year in Gaming—a week of stories centered around video games—by awarding our five favorite games of 2025. If you're a seasoned gamer looking for the best titles of the year, or a newcomer who doesn't want to waste their Sunday afternoon starting up a lackluster adventure, then look no further. Check out the list here. |
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Esquire's The Year in Gaming begins with our top five video games of 2025: including Silent Hill f, Split Fiction, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. (All pictured above.) |
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The Cliff-Hanger's Winners and Losers of the Week |
Winner: Dr. Robby Did you see how cool Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) looked riding his motorcycle in The Pitt season 2 teaser? Many viewers commented that he wasn't wearing a helmet, but what was the worst that could happen? He's already on his way to the hospital! Loser: Manousos Pluribus dedicated nearly an entire hour to a new character, Manousos (Carlos Manuel Vesga), in episode 7. I'm loving him so far, even though the episode ended with the Paraguayan needing a medical airlift out of the jungle because he accidentally fell into a spiky tree. Better luck next week, Manousos! Winner: Elfrida Marsh IT: Welcome to Derry ended its first season by connecting the Stephen King prequel series back to director Andy Muschietti's two IT films. It all hinged on one surprise cameo from Elfrida Marsh (Joan Gregson). She might be a member of the Losers' Club, but she's a winner this week! Loser: Slop Merriam-Webster named "slop" as 2025's Word of the Year. "The word sends a little message to AI: when it comes to replacing human creativity, sometimes you don't seem too superintelligent," the dictionary's human editors wrote. As someone who used the word a lot in 2025, it's certainly less cool to find out that I was in the majority now. Winner: Paul Dano After Quentin Tarantino stated that he thought the There Will Be Blood star was the "weakest f**king actor in SAG," celebrities came to Dano's defense including Daniel Day-Lewis, Ben Stiller, Simu Liu, Ryan Reynolds, Reese Witherspoon, Ethan Hawke, and more. If you liked Paul Dano before, just wait for his revenge tour! |
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