Gavin G
@ghgronen.bsky.social
Consumer Products Manager, The Jim Henson Company. Views are my own, though I don't share them too much (maybe i will here). He/him
Live with your fears in Mistery, snicker at rock stars in This Is Spinal Tap, feel your heart flutter in When Harry Met Sally, marvel at the adventure in The Princess Bride, or cry and grow with the kids in Stand By Me. I hope people remember how these movies make you feel. I know I will. Bye Rob.
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Live with your fears in Mistery, snicker at rock stars in This Is Spinal Tap, feel your heart flutter in When Harry Met Sally, marvel at the adventure in The Princess Bride, or cry and grow with the kids in Stand By Me. I hope people remember how these movies make you feel. I know I will. Bye Rob.
Rob Reiner will be remembered as more than a director--an actor, advocate, humanitarian. I'd encourage everyone to read about what he accomplished. But in case you don't, do yourself a favor and watch these movies when you're ready. They're five genre defining, landmark achievements in film. 30/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Rob Reiner will be remembered as more than a director--an actor, advocate, humanitarian. I'd encourage everyone to read about what he accomplished. But in case you don't, do yourself a favor and watch these movies when you're ready. They're five genre defining, landmark achievements in film. 30/
I didn't know Rob Reiner. I'm not a writer, or a film expert. He wasn't my friend. But he understood every emotion people went through so well that it felt like he could have been anyone's friend. How else could you explain someone who can make such different films so perfectly? 29/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
I didn't know Rob Reiner. I'm not a writer, or a film expert. He wasn't my friend. But he understood every emotion people went through so well that it felt like he could have been anyone's friend. How else could you explain someone who can make such different films so perfectly? 29/
In Stand By Me, an adult Gordy, now a writer, recounts the story because Chris, his childhood best friend, was killed trying to break up a fight. This thread is longer than I thought it would be, but I started writing it because of this framing device, which has been gnawing at me all day. 28/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
In Stand By Me, an adult Gordy, now a writer, recounts the story because Chris, his childhood best friend, was killed trying to break up a fight. This thread is longer than I thought it would be, but I started writing it because of this framing device, which has been gnawing at me all day. 28/
And this is where that journey comes in for the viewer at the end. Once they find the body--and it's not heroic, but heartbreaking--I remember feeling so weird as a teenager. Everything felt a bit worse, like you we're shielded from things in life anymore. Like the boys, and me, had grown up. 27/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
And this is where that journey comes in for the viewer at the end. Once they find the body--and it's not heroic, but heartbreaking--I remember feeling so weird as a teenager. Everything felt a bit worse, like you we're shielded from things in life anymore. Like the boys, and me, had grown up. 27/
This movie is such a tonal, environmental shift from the others on this list. Mostly in the forest or on railroad tracks, it intentionally feels like an emotional time capsule, not for the 50s, but for childhood, for being a kid in a small town. The when doesn't really matter, but the who does. 26/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
This movie is such a tonal, environmental shift from the others on this list. Mostly in the forest or on railroad tracks, it intentionally feels like an emotional time capsule, not for the 50s, but for childhood, for being a kid in a small town. The when doesn't really matter, but the who does. 26/
His ability to keep the boys so grounded while lost in the woods is impressive. The leech scene, which any other director might have played like American Pie, is instead filled with real concern for Gordy. It's only after he's ok that the jokes come, and they don't feel overly scripted. 25/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
His ability to keep the boys so grounded while lost in the woods is impressive. The leech scene, which any other director might have played like American Pie, is instead filled with real concern for Gordy. It's only after he's ok that the jokes come, and they don't feel overly scripted. 25/
For a younger, less empathetic me (like, say, all teenage boys), I didn't grasp the severity of what they were doing by looking for this poor kid. This movie is full of stressful hijinks and funny conversations--I was busy enjoying those, by design. Reiner wants you to laugh with these kids. 24/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
For a younger, less empathetic me (like, say, all teenage boys), I didn't grasp the severity of what they were doing by looking for this poor kid. This movie is full of stressful hijinks and funny conversations--I was busy enjoying those, by design. Reiner wants you to laugh with these kids. 24/
I first watched this movie when I was a little older than the boys in it, but like Princess Bride, your journey as the viewer mirrors them, especially at the right age. The concept of the movie--4 boys going to find a dead body--is inherently bleak, but it's not framed that way at first. 23/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
I first watched this movie when I was a little older than the boys in it, but like Princess Bride, your journey as the viewer mirrors them, especially at the right age. The concept of the movie--4 boys going to find a dead body--is inherently bleak, but it's not framed that way at first. 23/
Which brings me to the final masterpiece, Stand By Me. Though When Harry Met Sally remains my favorite, Stand By Me is the movie I have thought about the most this past day. This is, in my opinion, Reiner's most purely emotional story, coated with sadness and nostalgia at the same time. 22/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Which brings me to the final masterpiece, Stand By Me. Though When Harry Met Sally remains my favorite, Stand By Me is the movie I have thought about the most this past day. This is, in my opinion, Reiner's most purely emotional story, coated with sadness and nostalgia at the same time. 22/
It's equally about how the story is told. This movie feels like something your grandfather would tell you--the journey the viewer takes is similar to the kid's. It starts off goofy, more fun than a masterpiece. By the end, you're so fully invested that you might want to hear it again tomorrow. 21/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
It's equally about how the story is told. This movie feels like something your grandfather would tell you--the journey the viewer takes is similar to the kid's. It starts off goofy, more fun than a masterpiece. By the end, you're so fully invested that you might want to hear it again tomorrow. 21/
A grandiose version of this movie would not land. The characters would feel less earnest, and less funny at the same time. Everyone has a winking, knowing smarm here, but that doesn't weaken or lessen the blow when Montoya gets his revenge, or Wesley and Buttercup get their true love's kiss. 20/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
A grandiose version of this movie would not land. The characters would feel less earnest, and less funny at the same time. Everyone has a winking, knowing smarm here, but that doesn't weaken or lessen the blow when Montoya gets his revenge, or Wesley and Buttercup get their true love's kiss. 20/
Of all the great fantasy movies out there, the Princess Bride is such an oddball--it opens with an NES baseball game, Fred Savage keeps interrupting the drama, the score is from the Dire Straits frontman. But it all works because Reiner understood that's what Goldman's script (and book!) needed. 19/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Of all the great fantasy movies out there, the Princess Bride is such an oddball--it opens with an NES baseball game, Fred Savage keeps interrupting the drama, the score is from the Dire Straits frontman. But it all works because Reiner understood that's what Goldman's script (and book!) needed. 19/
Think about what are considered the best fantasy movies of all time. The scale of Lord of the Rings, the intricacy of Pan's Labyrinth. They feel huge. Princess Bride feels a bit like watching a decently budgeted play from a really earnest theater group. Why? It's supposed to! And it rocks. 18/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Think about what are considered the best fantasy movies of all time. The scale of Lord of the Rings, the intricacy of Pan's Labyrinth. They feel huge. Princess Bride feels a bit like watching a decently budgeted play from a really earnest theater group. Why? It's supposed to! And it rocks. 18/
When Harry Met Sally is my favorite because, like all great films, its writer, director, and actors are at the peak of their powers. Like Spinal Tap, it set the standard. The Princess Bride, possibly the most popular of all of these, is amazing because it's almost an outlier in its genre. 17/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
When Harry Met Sally is my favorite because, like all great films, its writer, director, and actors are at the peak of their powers. Like Spinal Tap, it set the standard. The Princess Bride, possibly the most popular of all of these, is amazing because it's almost an outlier in its genre. 17/
Aside from the big moment at the end, and the iconic diner scene, this is a movie full of little moments. It's perhaps his most real movie--the other 4 capture heightened parts of different lives/worlds, but Harry and Sally are just two people who fall in love, and he never lets you forget that. 16/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Aside from the big moment at the end, and the iconic diner scene, this is a movie full of little moments. It's perhaps his most real movie--the other 4 capture heightened parts of different lives/worlds, but Harry and Sally are just two people who fall in love, and he never lets you forget that. 16/
The staging on the airplane in Harry and Sally's second meeting. The batting cage conversation. Laying out the rug in Harry's apartment while he describes a date. Reiner knows you can't miss a line, so you watch every character act so naturally, as if you were also at a table with them. 15/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
The staging on the airplane in Harry and Sally's second meeting. The batting cage conversation. Laying out the rug in Harry's apartment while he describes a date. Reiner knows you can't miss a line, so you watch every character act so naturally, as if you were also at a table with them. 15/
This movie is full of brilliant lines from Nora Ephron's perfect script, but it's Reiner's direction that makes it so cohesive. He understands the script was the star here, so he's constantly creating engaging scenes so the viewer is always listening to what the characters are saying. 14/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
This movie is full of brilliant lines from Nora Ephron's perfect script, but it's Reiner's direction that makes it so cohesive. He understands the script was the star here, so he's constantly creating engaging scenes so the viewer is always listening to what the characters are saying. 14/
Most of his works exemplify their genre's, but I think only one is the definitive version--When Harry Met Sally, which is a top 5 film for both me and my wife. Every romantic comedy since 1989 has tried to emulate this movie, and none have ever hit the high points that this one does. 13/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Most of his works exemplify their genre's, but I think only one is the definitive version--When Harry Met Sally, which is a top 5 film for both me and my wife. Every romantic comedy since 1989 has tried to emulate this movie, and none have ever hit the high points that this one does. 13/
Spinal Tap would be the roadmap for Christopher Guest's other brilliant works, most produced under Reiner's company Castle Rock--another item to add to his list of accolades. This isn't the first mockumentary but it feels like a starting pistol, and he absolutely aced the style and humor. 12/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Spinal Tap would be the roadmap for Christopher Guest's other brilliant works, most produced under Reiner's company Castle Rock--another item to add to his list of accolades. This isn't the first mockumentary but it feels like a starting pistol, and he absolutely aced the style and humor. 12/
SO much of humor feels like this now. Half of the reason my generation loves funny but less artistic outlets like Vine is because the cut at the end of the 6 second clips are often the hardest laughs. This is Reiner again meeting a mostly-improvised script where he needs to for the movie. 11/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
SO much of humor feels like this now. Half of the reason my generation loves funny but less artistic outlets like Vine is because the cut at the end of the 6 second clips are often the hardest laughs. This is Reiner again meeting a mostly-improvised script where he needs to for the movie. 11/
The style of humor feels so natural as well--my favorite joke is a 1-minute scene where Nigel plays this beautiful piano piece as Marty engages him on it. Marty asks what it's called--Nigel is quick to say "L*ck My Love Pump" and the scene expertly cuts right after. Absolutely hysterical. 10/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
The style of humor feels so natural as well--my favorite joke is a 1-minute scene where Nigel plays this beautiful piano piece as Marty engages him on it. Marty asks what it's called--Nigel is quick to say "L*ck My Love Pump" and the scene expertly cuts right after. Absolutely hysterical. 10/
This Is Spinal Tap feels so much like a documentary of its time--inexpensive, loose, almost uncomfortable with what it's uncovering (in a funny way). It feels like you can see Rob's character, Marty Di Bergi, in the edit bay saying "I can't believe we got the cucumber at the airport on film." 9/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
This Is Spinal Tap feels so much like a documentary of its time--inexpensive, loose, almost uncomfortable with what it's uncovering (in a funny way). It feels like you can see Rob's character, Marty Di Bergi, in the edit bay saying "I can't believe we got the cucumber at the airport on film." 9/
Misery is perhaps his last masterpiece, so contrast it with his first--quite literally as opposite a film as I could think of, a fake documentary about a fake metal band called Spinal Tap. This movie is the tentpole for mock-docs after it--I cannot image The Office or Parks exists without it. 8/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Misery is perhaps his last masterpiece, so contrast it with his first--quite literally as opposite a film as I could think of, a fake documentary about a fake metal band called Spinal Tap. This movie is the tentpole for mock-docs after it--I cannot image The Office or Parks exists without it. 8/
The obvious star is Kathy Bates, but Reiner readily handles the increasing stress and anxiety in his first ever horror movie--the films he did before rely on romantic/emotional conflict, whereas this is pure terror that only increases the longer you (and Paul) are confined to that house. 7/
December 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
The obvious star is Kathy Bates, but Reiner readily handles the increasing stress and anxiety in his first ever horror movie--the films he did before rely on romantic/emotional conflict, whereas this is pure terror that only increases the longer you (and Paul) are confined to that house. 7/