Needless to say, certain tropes follow actor/ director/successful-son-of-a-famous father Rob Reiner around: one is the epithet "Meathead" from his role on the great television sitcom "All in the Family," and the other is "I'll have what she's having," the signature Katz's deli line uttered by Reiner's mother Estelle upon seeing Meg Ryan's character Sally fake an orgasm in the hit movie "When Harry Met Sally." These bits were lovingly deployed last night at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Tribute to Rob Reiner. In one of the evening's special moments, Ryan and her "Harry," Billy Crystal walked hand in hand across the Avery Fisher Hall's flower festooned stage, with Crystal quipping, "We are finally under the chupah. For anyone waiting for the sequel, this is it."
I'm not sure anyone is waiting for the sequel to this one movie, but maybe another movie we could love as much. The audience was treated to a clip from Reiner's upcoming film in which Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton have a senior seductive moment. Douglas, Michael McKean, Bruce Cohen, Barry Sonnenfeld, and James Caan all showed up to pay tribute recalling key moments and praising Reiner for talent and menschlechkeit, his political activism, particularly in California's repeal of Proposition 8. Morgan Freeman, Tom Cruise, Mandy Patinkin, and his dad Carl Reiner were among those who sent taped accolades. Martin Scorsese presented the award, calling Reiner out for imitating him in "This is Spinal Tap." Reiner recounted the story, that when Marty offered him the role of Leonardo DiCaprio's father in Wolf of Wall Street, he wondered, which is more believable, that Leo is a Jew,or that I could be his father. Of course, the evening's soundtrack featured, "It Had to be You."
A version of this post also appears on Gossip Central.