EXCLUSIVE: Watch Rob Reiner's Most Heart-Wrenching 'Family Home Movie' — Featuring His Famous Father Carl Tucking Directing Icon Into Bed and Telling Him 'So Long'
The two late stars' resurfaced clip has left fans in tears.
Jan. 6 2026, Published 2:45 p.m. ET
Tragic Rob Reiner is at the center of a resurfaced "home movie" viewers are calling heartbreaking – a tender exchange with his father, Carl Reiner, that has taken on new meaning as it circulates widely online.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the video, recorded three days before Carl died in 2020 at age 98, which shows the legendary comedian and filmmaker gently directing his son into bed in a reenactment inspired by The Princess Bride, the iconic 1987 film Rob directed.
Rob Reiner's Viral Video
Rob Reiner appeared in a resurfaced home video with his now late father.
Their intimate clip has re-emerged amid renewed attention on the Reiner family legacy, drawing an emotional response from fans who describe it as a devastating and beautiful farewell between a father and son.
Rob and Carl, who shared decades of personal and professional closeness, had spoken publicly about their bond and mutual admiration.
In a joint interview in 2019 with broadcaster Dan Rather, the pair reflected on their creative relationship.
Asked about his son's work, Carl said: "Well, what I think about him is – and you'll say that's because you're his father – but he's made some of my favorite movies. Whoever made them, they'd still be my favorite movies."
Rob responded with self-deprecation when Carl pressed him on his output, saying: "20!" before Carl joked: "And there's only one dud."
Rob replied: "There's more than one dud in there."
The video recreated a scene inspired by 'The Princess Bride.'
A Father's Farewell
The pair exchanged banter that reflected decades of closeness.
Carl went on to praise his son's movies, including The American President, When Harry Met Sally, and The Princess Bride, with Rob adding Stand by Me.
The exchange underscored a rhythm of banter between the pair honed over a lifetime, not just as father and son but as artists who deeply respected each other's work.
They showed their bond by humorously recreating the closing scene of Rob's Princess Bride flick.
In the video that is now going viral, fans see Carl shut the book The Princess Bride closed as he says the line: "Now I think you are to go to sleep."
The camera then pans over to Rob, who was in his seventies at the time, tucked away in a small child's bed.
Carl, before putting on a fedora, says: "Okay, okay, alright. So long." Rob calls out, "Grandpa? Can you come over tomorrow and read it again?"
Carl half-smiles and nods, giving a slight salute, and delivering a well-known line from the film, "As you wish."
'The Princess Bride' Tribute Revealed
Fans described the viral clip as a heartbreaking farewell.
The Princess Bride was adapted from William Goldman's novel about a father sharing a beloved story with his child.
A Hollywood source said about the moment: "Rob Reiner was drawn to The Princess Bride because it was a story rooted in the experience of a parent passing down something deeply loved to a child, mirroring the way the book had been handed to him by his own father, Carl Reiner."
That simple gesture of affection eventually transformed into a moment where a grandfather reads to his grandchild on screen.
In a poignant closing of the circle, only days before Carl died in 2020, father and son recreated the film's final scene, ending with that unforgettable 'As you wish' line.
Shared publicly as a tribute to Carl at the time, the video now lands as an unexpectedly moving and heartbreaking farewell to Rob as well."
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Nick Reiner Murder Update
The video resurfaced amid renewed focus on the Reiner family tragedy.
Other viewers echoed the sentiment. One source close to the online reaction said the video was now "utterly heartbreaking to watch, a reminder of how love and art intertwine in a family."
Another added it was "heartbreaking in the purest way, capturing a goodbye that feels both personal and universal."
Comments continue to flood in beneath the clip, with one viewer writing: "Once upon a time, there was a family who shared their immeasurable talent, humor, and humanity with all of us. The world will miss them. May their memory be a blessing."
Another added: "Maybe nobody is perfect, but these two certainly came close to it."
Rob, 78, was found in bed with his throat cut beside his wife, Michele, 70, at their mansion in California in December.
The pair's son, Nick Reiner, 32, who has been charged in the double murder of his famed parents, is now said to have been taken off suicide watch as he languishes in solitary confinement at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility.
Nick, charged with two first-degree murder counts over the Reiner slayings, is due to be arraigned on Wednesday, January 7, at the Los Angeles Superior Court Stanley Mosk Courthouse.
