Reach Me (also known as Out of Sight and Collection) is an American drama film written and directed by John Herzfeld. Partially crowdfunded, it was released in 2014.
The film is a Hyperlink Story centered around an eponymous self-help book which plays some role in the lives of a miscellany of characters from all possible walks of life:
- Colette (Kyra Sedgwick), an inmate just released from prison after serving an arson sentence.
- Eve (Elizabeth Henstridge), her cousin who wants to become an actress.
- Teddy Raymond (Tom Berenger), the reclusive writer of the book.
- Gerald (Sylvester Stallone), an aggressive blogger who sends a journalist, Roger (Kevin Connolly), to expose him.
- Dominic and Thumper (Omari Hardwick and David O'Hara), two thugs employed by a gangster, Frank (Tom Sizemore), who read the book and are inspired to quit their lines of work.
- Wolfie (Thomas Jane), a gunslinging cop trying to change his ways with the guidance of his priest, Father Paul (Danny Aiello).
- Wilson (Terry Crews), Teddy's manager, Nelly (E-Ruption), a rap artist promoting the book, and Kate (Lauren Cohan), a former stutterer who now works for Wilson.
As appealing as the premise might sound and despite the fact that the cast consists almost entirely of well-known and talented actors, the film was savaged by critics for its jumbled and incoherent narrative, initially earning a rare 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though that has since been brought up to a slightly better 4%.
Tropes
- The Alcoholic: Father Paul, who has a bit of a drinking problem.
- Apologetic Attacker: Wolfie, who kills several criminals in the line of duty, though he feels remorse for what he does and confesses to a priest about it.
- Being Evil Sucks: Dominic and Thumper, who want to quit their jobs as enforcers.
- Cathartic Scream: As part of Teddy's therapy, he has patients scream out their promises to themselves to the sea to affirm it.
- Da Editor: Gerald.
- Face Your Fears: Near the end of the film, Teddy conquers his fear of crowds by speaking to an audience of his fans.
- Good Is Not Soft: Wolfie may be through and through honest lawman, but he leaves a lot of bodies in his wake.
- Good Shepherd: Father Paul, who tries to steer Wolfie onto a less violent path.
- The Gunslinger: Wolfie, who carries a revolver and even dresses in a duster and spurred boots like a Western movie sheriff.
- Hyperlink Story
- Informed Deformity: Kate's cleft lip. She and other characters make a big deal of it, but you have to look pretty hard to actually see it.
- Just Got Out of Jail: Colette.
- Karma Houdini: Kersey, Eve's co-actor. Even though Wolfie beats the crap out of him for what he did, the media coverage of his trailer being broken into only raises his profile.
- Kick the Dog: Frank specifically orders Dominic and Thumper to kill their target's dog, just because. In a later scene, he blows off steam by shooting at rabbits from his car.
- The Man Behind the Man: Frank turns out to be employed by an even more powerful gangster, Angelo (Kelsey Grammer).
- Ms. Fanservice: Denise-Denise.
- Rape as Drama: While shooting a bed scene, Eve is molested by her co-actor under the sheets while the cameras are rolling.
- Reclusive Artist: Teddy Raymond, who stays away from press and fans. Justified since he is afraid of crowds.
- Relationship Upgrade: Wolfie and Eve become a couple at the end of the story.
- Reluctant Warrior: Wolfie is genuinely good at what he does, even though he wants to stop killing.
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: In the end, Roger chooses Teddy Raymond's teachings over his own career.
