Weekend Stubble

Hey, New Yorker: what's with the umlauts?

What kind of idiot puts an umlaut in "reënact"? That should have been my reaction when I found the word in a New Yorker film review, but, because the New Yorker is famously tough on spelling, I began to doubt myself, even to wonder what kind of idiot doesn't know that "reënact" requires an umlaut?...

Oddly, none of my dictionaries has the word at all, which suggests it does not exist. So why do I know what it means?

My computer's spell-check allows "re-enact", so I am advocating that. My decision is final. I have no idea why the New Yorker prefers "reënact" - but I suspect that they are Motörhead fans.

Hmm. No sleep 'til Park Slope?