Diner (1982)

A group of college-age buddies struggle with their imminent passage into adulthood in 1959 Baltimore.

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer:

Barry Levinson

Stars:

Steve Guttenberg, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Guttenberg	...	Edward 'Eddie' Simmons
Daniel Stern	...	Laurence 'Shrevie' Schreiber
Mickey Rourke	...	Robert 'Boogie' Sheftell
Kevin Bacon	...	Timothy Fenwick Jr.
Tim Daly	...	William 'Billy' Howard (as Timothy Daly)
Ellen Barkin	...	Beth Schreiber
Paul Reiser	...	Modell
Kathryn Dowling	...	Barbara
Michael Tucker	...	Bagel
Jessica James	...	Mrs. Simmons
Colette Blonigan	...	Carol Heathrow
Kelle Kipp	...	Diane
John Aquino	...	Tank
Richard Pierson	...	David Frazer
Claudia Cron	...	Jane Chisholm

Storyline

Early twenty-something Baltimoreans Eddie, Shrevie, Boogie, Billy, Fenwick and Modell have been friends since they were kids, where the center of their lives has been and still is the Fells Point Diner. It's the last week of 1959. Baltimore Colts fanatic Eddie is scheduled to get married to Elyse on New Year's Eve, but may call off the wedding if Elyse doesn't pass his Colts quiz which he will hold two days before the scheduled wedding. Inexperienced Eddie turns to the only other married one among the bunch, electronics salesman and music aficionado Shrevie, for advice, he who may not be the best person from who to ask advice on marriage since he doesn't yet realize that he probably got married to his wife Beth for the wrong reasons. Indeed, Beth, who has lost her sense of identity, is unhappy in their marriage, and contemplates having an affair with someone who provides what she believes is a sympathetic shoulder. Hairdresser and law school student Boogie is the player of the bunch, ...

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Plot Keywords:

diner | salesman | directorial debut | one word title | jew | 

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Taglines:

Suddenly, life was more than french fries, gravy and girls.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 May 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

American Diner

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$14,100,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),SLM Production Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to allmovie.com, "Diner (1982) was the first part of (Barry) Levinson's 'Baltimore Trilogy', followed by Tin Men (1987) and Avalon (1990)'. It has also been said that Diner (1982) is the first film in Barry Levinson's series of four "Baltimore Films". The others being Tin Men (1987) , Avalon (1990), and Liberty Heights (1999).

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Goofs

In several scenes, Boogie is seen driving his car with the column shift transmission in "Park".

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Quotes

Boogie: You want to bet that she goes for my pecker - first thing?
Fenwick: The only hand on your pecker is going to be your own
Boogie: You want to bet me? You want to bet me twenty?
Fenwick: Yeah.
Eddie: I'm in.
Modell: Me too.
Shrevie: Yeah, I'm in too. But, we need validation.
Boogie: All right. I'll arrange it.
Shrevie: How? You gonna get - finger prints? I'm tellin' ya, I'm not gonna do the dustin'.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits run as we hear another diner conversation between the guys.

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Alternate Versions

ABC edited 16 minutes from this film for its 1986 network television premiere.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: George Burns/Barry Levinson/Patricia Kaas (1991)

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Soundtracks

Mr. Blue
Written by DeWayne Blackwell
Performed by The Fleetwoods
Courtesy of Liberty Records
A division of Capitol Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Incredibly delightful, and Funny

This movie has entered my top 20 list since I seen it for the first time at the start of this month. The only thing I hated about this movie was that the channel I was watching it on had taken out the swear words so I didn't quite get all those jokes.

Apart from that I loved this movie it mostly has males in it but that didn't matter, you could just feel the friendship between these 5 guys. This film was also very funny whether it was the popcorn scene,the football quiz,the jail scene or Methan quoting his favourite film, it's all there.

Out of the five main guys in the film two of them really showed their talent; and they were Mickey Rourke and Daniel Stern. After seeing this film I decided to give it an 8 out of 10 because I think it deserves that rating.

Whoever said that this is a guy flick is terribly mistaken because I am a 15 year old girl and I really enjoyed it.