Reality Bites (1994)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Ben Stiller

Writer (WGA):

Helen Childress (written by)

Release Date:

18 February 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A comedy about love in the '90s.

Plot:

Generation X Graduates face life after college with a filmmaker looking for work and love in Houston.

Plot Keywords:

Generation X | Love | Valedictorian | College Graduation | Post College

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Winona Ryder	...	Lelaina Pierce
Ethan Hawke	...	Troy Dyer
Janeane Garofalo	...	Vickie Miner
Steve Zahn	...	Sammy Gray
Ben Stiller	...	Michael Grates
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Charlane McGregor
Harry O'Reilly	...	Wes McGregor
Susan Norfleet	...	Helen Anne Pierce
Joe Don Baker	...	Tom Pierce
Renée Zellweger	...	Tami (as Renee Zellweger)
James Rothenberg	...	Rick
John Mahoney	...	Grant Gubler
Eric Morgan Stuart	...	Damien (as Eric Stuart)
Barry Del Sherman	...	Grant's Producer (as Barry Sherman)
Chelsea Lagos	...	Troy Groupie

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some language, drug content and sensuality.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:S | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Houston, Texas, USA

Company:

Jersey Films

Trivia:

Renée Zellweger's film debut.

Goofs:

Continuity: Troy's hair in different shots while talking to Michael outside of the club.

Quotes:

Vickie: Welcome to the Maxi Pad.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Howard Stern on Demand: Lisa Loeb & Sister" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Confusion

After further review... it doesn't hold up well...

Ok.. When I first saw this in the theatre upon it's initial release, I really indentified with it. Upon viewing it seven years later, I realized what a whiny, early-twentysomething I was back then. This movie is incredibly pretentious and makes my generation look like a bunch of babies with dirty diapers. Unfortunately, in the mid 90's, that's exactly how most people my age acted. We felt we deserved the world on a silver platter... and cried when it wasn't handed to us.

The characters, by 2001 standards, are all horrible mid-90's stereotypes. Hawke, Ryder and Garofolo's characters are painfully self-absorbed. Especially Hakwe's character Troy, he is supposed to be "deep" and "intellectual", but after viewing the film in 2001, his "serious slacker" persona is almost comical. Lelaina (Ryder) is upset because she can't land her dream job immediately after college. (who does?!?) Vickie (Garofolo) is basically a slut who works at the Gap. She talks about AIDS tests as being a defining point of Gen X. This never happened and makes the film seem even more dated.

I won't go too much into the story, but it's basically a love triangle between Troy (Hawke), Lelaina (Ryder) and the nice-guy yuppie Michael (Stiller). The early-mid 90's stamp is all over the story, as Stiller's successful-nice guy character is dumped for the slacker with few redeeming qualities (Hawke). In 1994 I saw Michael as square and Troy seemed pretty damned slick and cool. In 2001, I think Michael would be vacationing on the French Riviera, while Troy would be selling used cars. Amazing the difference in attitude seven years make.

Technically, the movie is well done. Stiller does a pretty good job directing and gets admirable performances from his cast. Especially the supporting actors Kurtz, Mahoney and an underused Steve Zahn. The soundtrack is excellent and holds up to the test of time much better than the film or soundtracks from similar movies. (ie. Singles)

Overall, Reality Bites is an average love-triangle story with WAY to much mid-90's Gen-X slacker sentiment. IMHO, this movie did not age well and today, it seems like a self-parody with it's "angst/slacker" theme....

Ratings: In 1994: 7/10 In 2001: 4/10