Nick and Rob Reiner Rob Reiner, Oscar-nominated director of great American movies such as “Stand by Me” and “When Harry Met Sally…”, has partnered with his son, Nick Reiner. Collaboratively, they made a very personal film — “Being Charlie.” The documentary chronicles the raw, honest, complicated, funny, and painful journey of a privileged young man battling drug addiction and finding, and being found by, the path to recovery. This unusual creative partnership has enabled both father and son to confront their experiences and emotions with a cloth. In particular, it shines a light on Nick’s deep battle with addiction.
Being Charlie Moving, funny and heartbreakingly personal, Being Charlie tells the story of a high-profile celebrity’s son as he enters and re-enters the merciless world of addiction. The story-based approach mirrors the journeys of Rob and Nick. Perhaps most importantly, it starkly reminds us that addiction affects everybody, regardless of race or class.
“It doesn’t matter if you have money, you don’t have money, if you’re, you know, have advantages or you don’t. These problems can affect anybody.” – Rob Reiner
Director Rob Reiner was constantly at odds throughout the production. He found it hard to reconcile his veristic paternal instincts with the professional needs of directing such a deeply personal story. At first, he wasn’t sure what to do—he had been told that the best way to handle Nick’s dark times was a shoot-the-boot approach.
“They told us, ‘You have to be tough, it has to be tough love,’ which is not my nature, I’m not a disciplinarian,” – Rob Reiner
As much as he didn’t want to, Rob became the bad cop, father figure just to make the movie as real as possible.
“I’m an actor, so I have to act. I’ll act like a guy who, you know, is tough.” – Rob Reiner
Even as they collaborated, the Reiners used this project to circumvent what was clearly a toxic partnership. While there was conflict and contention, those interactions fostered a sense of greater appreciation and understanding of each other’s work.
“There were times we had fights, and you know, we went at each other, and that to me was, you know, at times, was difficult. It was very emotional, but it was also the most satisfying creative experience I’ve ever had,” – Rob Reiner
For Nick Reiner, the process of creating “Being Charlie” provided an unforeseen view into his father’s artistry.
“I thought I knew everything at first when I went in to this, and then I realized I don’t know anything, and I should probably just listen to what he has to say.” – Nick Reiner
Rob and Nick really developed their characters and story extensively. They used what they found from their own experiences and took aspects they found from the thousands of others they met throughout rehab.
Rob admitted that the father figure in the movie was originally conceived as a pretty one-dimensional bad guy. This characterization made him reconsider his own friendship with Nick.
“The father originally was written as very black-and-white bad guy, and I thought, ‘Oh God, that’s what Nick thinks of me?’” – Rob Reiner
Nick told me he really wanted to get across how complicated their relationship was. He struggled with the fact that in order to talk about his feelings, he would need to depict his father unfavorably.
“The father character initially was harsh on [his son in the movie], and I, believe it or not, was not wanting the character to be that villainous … it was hard for [my own father] for a while to think that I thought of him that way.” – Nick Reiner
“Being Charlie” became a lot bigger than a film. It turned into a very cathartic process for both Rob’s and Nick’s families. While using their characters to work through addiction and recovery, they found themselves processing their own issues as well.
“We didn’t set out to make it be some cathartic experience but it turned out that it was.” – Rob Reiner
