| Reach Me | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | John Herzfeld |
| Written by | John Herzfeld |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
Production company | Seraphim Films Productions |
| Distributed by | Millennium Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$5,000,000[1] |
Reach Me is a 2014 Americandrama film directed and written byJohn Herzfeld.[2] The film starsSylvester Stallone,Kyra Sedgwick,Terry Crews,Thomas Jane,Kevin Connolly,Lauren Cohan,Kelsey Grammer, andTom Berenger.[3]The film was produced by Rebekah Chaney,Cassian Elwes, Buddy Patrick, John Herzfeld.[4]
The plot revolves around how a self-help book inspires a diverse group of people: a journalist and his editor, a former inmate, a hip-hop mogul, an actor and an undercover cop. The creation ofReach Me was influenced as least partly by Herzfeld's memories of seeing televangelistReverend Ike and readingNapoleon Hill's self-help bookThink and Grow Rich, although Herzfeld says the film is "not about getting rich, but believing in yourself."[5]
To build a solid cast for the movie, Herzfeld started with Stallone; the two had been friends since they were roommates together as students atUniversity of Miami.[1] After Stallone committed to participate, other actors agreed to join the cast at minimum pay rates.[1] Herzfeld recruited another long-time friend,Danny Aiello, to play the role of a mobster[6]: 302 – but after Aiello declined that role, Herzfeld and Aiello collaborated on creating the character of Father Paul.[6]: 303 Aiello credits his work onReach Me with aiding his emotional recovery from the death of his son,Danny Aiello III.[6]: 303
While inviting friends' participation inReach Me, Herzfeld also enlisted close relatives of participants: Herzfeld's wife, Rebekah Chaney,[7] joined as co-producer and cast member. Stallone's youngest daughter, Scarlet, had her acting debut inReach Me, although she described the experience as "pretty humiliating" because she "just had to say one tiny line, and they had to cut that in half."[8]
During principal photography in 2013, funding for the film dried up when one of the investors,Norman Zada, backed out and sued for return ofUS$1,000,000.[9][10] Herzfeld, Stallone and producers Rebekah Chaney and Cassian Elwes started aKickstarter campaign to raise their goal ofUS$250,000 by September 19.[11][12] Despite reaching theUS$250,000 goal on Kickstarter, the production team decided to withdraw its Kickstarter campaign and start again with the competing crowdfunding platformIndiegogo, citing its broader and more flexible capabilities.[13] The Indiegogo campaign set a goal forUS$50,000 starting on September 17 and ended on September 22 with a total ofUS$178,640.[14] Total production costs for the film are estimated atUS$5,000,000.[1]
The first official trailer for John Herzfeld'sReach Me was released on July 7, 2014,[15] and the second official trailer was released on September 25, 2014.[16]
The film holds a 4% approval rating onRotten Tomatoes based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 3.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Featuring a bewildering array of talented actors pummeled by disjointed direction and a dull, hackneyed script,Reach Me is so fundamentally misbegotten that its title reads more like a threat."[17] AtMetacritic, which assigns aweighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 21% based on 14 reviews.[18]