Remembering Rob Reiner

Late last night, I saw the news. Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home. Like so many others, I was stunned by this news. Word quickly followed that the murder suspect was their own son, Nick Reiner.

Nick had reportedly struggled with mental health issues. A decade ago, he had written a semi-autobiographical screenplay about a son who battled addiction. Rob directed the film, Being Charlie, and Cary Elwes (of Princess Bride fame) played the father.

I almost crossed paths with Rob and Michele a couple years back. Reiner produced the documentary film God & Country based on Katherine Stewart’s book and feature several of us who have spoken out against Christian nationalism, including many of us who are Christians.

Here’s the trailer, if you haven’t seen it:

When the trailer released, there was an outcry from Christian nationalists and their friends and allies, who condemned people like me, Russell Moore, Jemar Tisby, Amanda Tyler, and Phil Vischer for teaming up with a non-Christian like Reiner. (Truth be told, none of us knew Reiner was producing the documentary at the time we were interviewed, but I also don’t think any of us minded that he was.) It wasn’t the first time these folks have condemned us, nor would it be the last time.

I was a bit surprised, not at the attack, but at the nature of the attack. There was plenty I had said in the documentary itself that could be used against me, but instead, they went with affiliation.

Truth be told, I hadn’t really kept up with Reiner’s career. I knew he was in All in the Family but I was a bit too young for that one. I had seen Princess Bride a couple dozen times, but I’d missed many of his classic films. I’m embarrassed to confess that I hadn’t even seen When Harry Met Sally. (I finally did a few weeks ago on a transatlantic flight—it was delightful.)

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the film’s DC premier with Reiner due to a conflict with another event, but friends who were there, and who attended a small dinner with him after, spoke glowingly of both Rob and Michele. They were kind, smart, and compassionate.

It had been important to him, and to the film’s director, to make a movie about Christian nationalism without condemning Christianity as a whole. That’s where we came in.

You can hear an interview with Rob Reiner, director Dan Partland, and Baptist Joint Committee’s Amanda Tyler here.

Or, listen to Lee Camp interview Dan and Rob on No Small Endeavor. It’s worth your time to do so if you’d like to remember Rob and what he stood for.

Earlier today, President Trump commented on the Reiners’ deaths. At first I wasn’t going to include it here, but then I reconsidered. I think it’s important to look this evil in the eye, and I think Reiner would have wanted us to:

Russell Moore called out this “vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior,” which predictably led to a lot of Christians calling Moore vile, disgusting, and immoral.

Baptist seminary professor Owen Strachan had this to say:

There you have it, folks. In case you were wondering, rest assured, Donald Trump is indeed a sinner.

In all seriousness, though, I will miss Rob’s voice and his support. Christianity is at the heart of the authoritarian movement taking over this country, and Christians have a responsibility to counter it, but we can’t do it alone.

Good people need to join together, and it’s beautiful when we do.

When Jemar and I were connecting today over Reiner’s death, he noted that he also hadn’t met Rob in person, be he would always respect him “for showing more courage than a lot of Christian pastors and politicians.”

Amen, Jemar. And may your memory be a blessing, Rob and Michele.