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Reality Bites
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Reality Bites (1994) More at IMDbPro »

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Reality Bites (1994) -- Generation X Graduates face life after college with a filmmaker looking for work and love in Houston.

Overview

User Rating:
6.3/10   16,103 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 28% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Ben Stiller
Writer (WGA):
Helen Childress (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Reality Bites on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 February 1994 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Romance more
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. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(24 articles)
NYC Summer Screenings
 (From The Flickcast. 7 July 2009, 10:50 AM, PDT)

Winona,Interrupted
 (From New York Post. 30 May 2009, 10:30 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
After further review... it doesn't hold up well... more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

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 more
Sound Mix:
DTS
Filming Locations:
Houston, Texas, USA more
Company:
Jersey Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Renée Zellweger's film debut. more
Goofs:
Continuity: Troy's hair in different shots while talking to Michael outside of the club. more
Quotes:
Vickie: Welcome to the Maxi Pad. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Howard Stern on Demand: Lisa Loeb & Sister" (2006) more
Soundtrack:
Confusion more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
61 out of 101 people found the following comment useful:-
After further review... it doesn't hold up well..., 1 October 2001
Author: nunyerbiz from Detroit, Michigan



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

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Reality Bites (1994)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
14 years later GlennBeckFan
When Lelaina and Michael are talking about that feeling... scorpiosnake01
Strongly Ironic jebbika
Don't Eff With Muh Cult paul-3822
Pop References seem off by ten years jonesjax
Gen X collection... KarlCrys4Ophelia
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