Reign Over Me: DVD Review, Blu-ray disc Review

The idea that Adam Sandler was director Mike Binder’s go-to guy for a movie that uses the events of Sept. 11 as its emotional backdrop feels about as right as a weekend call from the doctor’s office.

Still, here the actor is as Charlie Fineman, a former dentist who lost his wife and three daughters in one of the planes that crashed on Sept. 11 and who now exists in a haze of denial, not unlike the actor himself.

Over the course of his 18-year film career, Sandler has played a wealth of characters, not one of which has come close to preparing him for a role that demands, above all else, the ability to tap into an unimaginable vein of rage and grief.

The idea that he’s paired opposite Don Cheadle as fellow dentist and former roommate Alan Johnson is no help. Cheadle’s gifts as an actor are on full display here, and they consistently underscore Sandler’s weakness as a dramatic actor.

Rated R. Grade: C-

A more in-depth review is here.