(Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
As the son of celebrated actor-writer-director Carl Reiner and actress and singer Estelle Reiner, Rob Reiner was probably always destined for Hollywood. And though he boasts his fair share of memorable acting roles, most notably for his Emmy-winning performances on Norman Lear’s classic sitcom All in the Family, he’s arguably best known for the string of beloved films he directed throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
That iconic run began with his first feature film, 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap, the pioneering cult classic that helped popularize the mockumentary film as a reliable vehicle for comedy. From there, he kept churning out hits like Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, Misery, and A Few Good Men, all of which earned at least one Academy Award nomination, with Misery taking home a win for Kathy Bates’ performance. If we’re talking cultural impact, there aren’t many directors who can match Reiner’s output in those years.
(Photo by Columbia Pictures)
Reiner spent the next part of his career focusing on romantic comedies and dramas, working with top talent in films like The American President, The Story of Us, The Bucket List, and And So It Goes, among others. He then pivoted again to more political fare, covering the aftermath of the JFK assassination in 2017’s LBJ and George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq in 2016’s Shock and Awe.
Reiner’s final two films brought his career behind the camera full circle. In 2023, Albert Brooks: Defending My Life became his first traditional documentary, and in 2025, he returned to the mockumentary that started it all and gave it a sequel: Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. To celebrate his life, we now look at all of the films he directed, ranked by Tomatometer and starting with his Certified Fresh titles.
#1
Critics Consensus: Smartly directed, brilliantly acted, and packed with endlessly quotable moments, This Is Spinal Tap is an all-time comedy classic.
Synopsis: “This Is Spinal Tap” shines a light on the self-contained universe of a metal band struggling to get back on [More]
#2
Critics Consensus: A delightfully postmodern fairy tale, The Princess Bride is a deft, intelligent mix of swashbuckling, romance, and comedy that takes an age-old damsel-in-distress story and makes it fresh.
Synopsis: A fairy tale adventure about a beautiful young woman and her one true love. He must find her after a [More]
#3
Critics Consensus: Stand By Me is a wise, nostalgic movie with a weird streak that captures both Stephen King’s voice and the trials of growing up.
Synopsis: After learning that a stranger has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see [More]
#4
Critics Consensus: Elevated by standout performances from James Caan and Kathy Bates, this taut and frightening film is one of the best Stephen King adaptations to date.
Synopsis: After a serious car crash, novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who [More]
#5
Critics Consensus: A charming romantic comedy with political bite, Rob Reiner’s American President features strong lead performances and some poignant observations of politics and media in the 1990s.
Synopsis: With the end of his first term in sight, widowed U.S. President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) knows that overwhelming public [More]
#6
Critics Consensus: Rob Reiner’s touching, funny film set a new standard for romantic comedies, and he was ably abetted by the sharp interplay between Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan.
Synopsis: In 1977, college graduates Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) and Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) share a contentious car ride from Chicago [More]
#7
Critics Consensus: An old-fashioned courtroom drama with a contemporary edge, A Few Good Men succeeds on the strength of its stars, with Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, and especially Jack Nicholson delivering powerful performances that more than compensate for the predictable plot.
Synopsis: Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is a military lawyer defending two U.S. Marines charged with killing a fellow Marine at [More]
#8
Critics Consensus: Albert Brooks: Defending My Life offers an engrossing and suitably funny overview of its subject’s career — and one that’ll leave you wanting to watch more of his work.
Synopsis: Since the late 1960s, Albert Brooks has been a major force in American comedy with his smart, sometimes absurdist, and [More]
#9
Critics Consensus: Though its final outcome is predictable, The Sure Thing is a charming, smartly written, and mature teen comedy featuring a breakout role for John Cusack.
Synopsis: Gib (John Cusack), a college freshman, keeps striking out with women. When he learns that a beautiful Californian (Nicollette Sheridan) [More]
#10
Critics Consensus: Getting the band back together for an encore, Spinal Tap II‘s dry sense of humor doesn’t reach the heights of the original’s comedic brilliance but still hits the right nostalgia chords while wisely acting its own age.
Synopsis: Forty-one years after the release of the groundbreaking mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, the now estranged bandmates David St. Hubbins, [More]
#11
Critics Consensus: LBJ loses sight of its complicated subject, ignoring the more intriguing aspects of his personality and career in favor of a frustratingly ordinary biopic treatment.
Synopsis: Lyndon Johnson (Woody Harrelson) goes from being a powerful Senate majority leader to a powerless vice president before he becomes [More]
#12
Critics Consensus: While not without its nostalgic charms, Rob Reiner’s sometimes awkward adaptation of Wendelin Van Draanen’s childhood novel doesn’t reach the heights of the director’s earlier work like Stand By Me.
Synopsis: When they meet in second grade, Juli Baker falls instantly in love with her neighbor, Bryce Loski. Bryce, however, does [More]
#13
Critics Consensus: James Woods is convincing as a white supremacist, but everything else rings false in this courtroom drama, which examines a weighty subject from the least interesting perspective.
Synopsis: In this film based on actual events, black activist Medgar Evers (James Pickens Jr.) is murdered in 1963, and much [More]
#14
Critics Consensus: Not even the earnest performances of the two leads can rescue The Bucket List from its schmaltzy script.
Synopsis: Billionaire Edward Cole and car mechanic Carter Chambers are complete strangers, until fate lands them in the same hospital room. [More]
#15
Critics Consensus: Neither Rob Reiner nor Morgan Freeman are able to conjure up their old magic in this dull trifle, with both director and star appearing content to tread through the paces of the saccharine script.
Synopsis: An alcoholic, disabled novelist finds his muse again after he moves into a lakeside cabin and meets a single mother [More]
#16
Critics Consensus: Shock and Awe has a worthy story to tell and some fine actors trying to bring it to life; unfortunately, the end results are still as derivative as they are dramatically inert.
Synopsis: In 2003, as the Bush administration prepares to invade Iraq, skeptical journalists question the administration’s claim that Saddam Hussein has [More]
#17
Critics Consensus: A lack of chemistry between Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer fatally undermines the dull and predictable Story of Us.
Synopsis: After 15 years of marriage, Katie (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her husband, Ben (Bruce Willis), have grown apart. While they keep [More]
#18
Critics Consensus: Being Charlie has wonderful intentions and a strong central performance, but an affecting true story gets lost in the script’s surfeit of clichés.
Synopsis: The drug-addicted son (Nick Robinson) of a California politician (Cary Elwes) finds romance with a fellow patient (Morgan Saylor) in [More]
#19
Critics Consensus: This riff on The Graduate has a solid cast, but is too lightweight to fully register.
Synopsis: Living in New York City, Sarah (Jennifer Aniston) must make the cross-country trip back to her home state of California [More]
#20
Critics Consensus: And So It Goes aims for comedy, but with two talented stars stuck in a half-hearted effort from a once-mighty filmmaker, it ends in unintentional tragedy.
Synopsis: Nobody likes real-estate agent Oren Little (Michael Douglas), and he prefers it that way. He’s deliberately mean to anyone who [More]
#21
Critics Consensus: Laden with schmaltz and largely bereft of evident narrative purpose, North represents an early major disappointment from previously sure-handed director Rob Reiner.
Synopsis: North (Elijah Wood) is a talented and bright kid, but his mom (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and dad (Jason Alexander) are utterly [More]
#22
Critics Consensus: A dull and unfunny comedy where the leads fail to generate any sparks.
Synopsis: Writer Alex Sheldon (Luke Wilson) must finish his novel within a month. If he doesn’t, he won’t get paid. And, [More]
Thumbnail image by Jesse Grant/Getty Images
