Jeremy Allen White talks about ‘talented’ Rob Reiner
Jeremy Allen White talks about what it was like working with Rob Reiner, “a truly gifted and singular artist,” on The Bear.
surprise! Late Hollywood icon Rob Reiner’s final TV appearance will be to skewer President Donald Trump.
The “When Harry Met Sally” director, who died in December, made a posthumous and unannounced appearance on the July 3 episode of “Life, Larry, and the Misadventures,” an HBO sketch comedy about the history of Larry David produced by former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama. At the end of the episode, Reiner played George Washington in a skit taunting Trump without ever saying his name, and Trump’s least favorite late-night comic, Jimmy Kimmel, also got involved.
In this scene, Reiner announces that Washington will not run for a third term and explains that he wants future presidents to follow his lead. He said Congress could pass a constitutional amendment that would limit presidents to two terms. But David, who played a man in the crowd listening to the speech, interjected and asked what would happen if, in theory, one day a “narcissistic thug” became president and refused to abide by the Constitution.
“Rest assured, even if this future president violates the Constitution, the United States Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court will not allow it,” Washington insists, only to ask David what would happen if the Supreme Court was made up of “a bunch of yes-men” and Congress “put party over country.”
“I just don’t understand why such a person exists,” Washington said, but added that in the future, after each election, there should be a peaceful transfer of power in which “the loser accepts the election result and fully supports the winner.” In another apparent attack on Trump, David’s character agrees: “Anyone who doesn’t accept the results of a free and fair election is a sociopath!”
At which point, another man in the crowd, played by Kimmel, interjects as David goes on a lengthy tirade against this hypothetical future president, clearly intended to be Trump, warning that the man could attack free press and try to silence “those who would criticize him.” Kimmel says. “Like a big baby? I don’t see it that way.”
President Trump has repeatedly called for Kimmel, a vocal critic, to be fired.
As David enrages the crowd, Washington tries to reassure everyone that a man of such bad character should never have been elected president in the first place, but a violent scuffle breaks out as the president looks on in horror. The episode ends there, and a memorial card honoring Reiner appears on screen.
Reiner filmed scenes for Life, Rally, and Misadventure on November 13, weeks before his death, director Jeff Schaefer told Variety. Schaefer also noted that it was intentional that the skit was aired the day before July 4th, telling Variety: “It’s scheduled to air over the Fourth of July weekend, but if that somehow ruins a sad weekend for octogenarians, so be it.”
Reiner and his wife, Michelle Singer Reiner, were found dead in their Los Angeles home in December. Their son Nick Reiner was charged with their murders. He pleaded not guilty.
Reiner, a longtime Democratic activist, has been a vocal critic of Trump, telling Variety magazine in 2017 that Trump is “the least qualified of all people to be president of the United States” and is “mentally unfit” for the role. After Reiner’s murder, Trump blamed the director’s death on “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” drawing widespread criticism. Amid the backlash, President Trump further strengthened his stance, saying at the White House that he was “not a fan” of Reiner and calling him “a psychopath as far as Mr. Trump is concerned.”
Mr. Reiner’s son, Jake Reiner, also appears on “Life, Rally, and Misadventures,” and appeared at the show’s premiere in June.
Rob Reiner’s appearance on David’s show comes after “The Bear” recently returned for its final season on June 25, but his character did not appear. However, he is mentioned in the final episode of the series, which was filmed after his death.
In an interview with USA TODAY, star Jeremy Allen White recalled working with the “incredibly generous (and) incredibly kind” star this past season. “(He was) very game, very curious, very dedicated. I was really happy to be there.”
Contributor: Erin Jensen, USA TODAY
