Bodies, Rest & Motion (1993)

Nick is a feckless television salesman who gets fired and impulsively decides that he and his girlfriend, Beth, will move to Butte, MT, which he's read is "the city of the future." "I read ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Steinberg

Writers:

Roger Hedden (play), Roger Hedden (screenplay)

Stars:

Phoebe Cates, Bridget Fonda, Tim Roth

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Phoebe Cates	...	Carol
Bridget Fonda	...	Beth
Tim Roth	...	Nick
Eric Stoltz	...	Sid
Alicia Witt	...	Elizabeth
Sandra Ellis Lafferty	...	Yard Sale Lady (as Sandra Lafferty)
Sidney Dawson	...	TV Customer
Jon Proudstar	...	Station Attendant
Scott Johnson	...	Chip
Kezbah Weidner	...	Dine Woman
Peter Fonda	...	Motorcycle Rider
Amaryllis Borrego	...	Waitress
Rich Wheeler	...	Elizabeth's Grandfather
Scott Frederick	...	TV Store Kid
Warren Burton	...	Radio Preacher (voice)

Storyline

Nick is a feckless television salesman who gets fired and impulsively decides that he and his girlfriend, Beth, will move to Butte, MT, which he's read is "the city of the future." "I read that a while ago, so the future should be there by now," he enthuses. He waits until the last moment to tell Carol, his ex and Beth's best friend, about the move. While Nick is working his last day, Sid comes to the couple's house to paint it for the next tenants. He quickly develops an interest in Beth. He, Beth, and Carol get stoned and hang out. When Sid hears about the move, he tells Beth that he's never left Enfield, and has no interest in traveling. Meanwhile, Nick decides to take off on his own. When Beth gets word of this from Carol, she finds solace in Sid's arms. Sid proclaims his love the next morning, and implores Beth to stay. Meanwhile, Nick visits his childhood home, looking for his parents, has an epiphany, and decides to return to Carol.

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Plot Keywords:

watching tv | stoned | salesman | love | friend | 

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Taglines:

A romantic comedy about four people caught between loving and leaving.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Arba Nishimot, Arba Tnuoat

Filming Locations:

Casa Grande, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$764,083

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fine Line Features,August Entertainment,Mindel-Shaw Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene when Peter Fonda arrives on his motorcycle and asks Tim Roth if the phone works, Bridget Fonda is actually hiding in the back seat of the car Roth is in. If you look very closely, for a second you see a small blue patch behind the seat for a second as Roth is sitting up. The same color of the t-shirt Bridget wore in the Arizona scenes. In the audio commentary on the DVD, director Michael Steinberg explains, "Bridget wanted to be in a shot with her father. Of course you can't see her at all. She's ducked down behind in the back seat, but I guess it was not since Easy Rider that they'd been in a film together."

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Quotes

Nick: You agreed to try Butte.
Beth: I know. Butte, Montana, 'city of the future'.
Nick: Yeah, and I read that a while ago, so the future's probably already there.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: This Boy's Life/The Sandlot/Indecent Proposal/Bodies, Rest & Motion/The Abyss (1993)

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Soundtracks

Juanita
Performed by The Flying Burrito Brothers
Written by Chris Hillman / Gram Parsons
Courtesy of A&M Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Mall Rats Meet Mamet

Bodies, Rest and Motion is an entertaining, well shot, well acted and well written film. Yes, as the title suggests, it is "philosophical", but it is certainly not dry or pretentious. The twists and turns used to sneak the "philosophy" into the mouths of the characters are fantastically clever. (Reminds me of Mamet.) However, this dialog is so well written that it fits perfectly into the mouths of these characters. This film can be watched two ways: as a slacker diary similar to Dazed and Confused, Clerks or Mall Rats or as a language-driven meditation on love, fidelity and ambition (lack thereof).

I've read reviews that call this film pretentious. I suspect that those reviewers don't appreciate that film can be linguistically creative and intellectually stimulating while still being fun. However, I feel that one of the reasons that this film was overlooked was that it was classified as a romantic comedy. Do not go into this film looking for "You've Got Mail" or "Down with Love". Also, don't go into this film looking for a hero to cheer for (though you might just find one).

Judge for yourself: Would Eric Stolz, Phoebe Cates, Tim Roth and Bridgett Fonda lend their colossal talents to pretentious garbage? If you're a writer, screenwriter or poet, then snag a copy of the script. Like Mamet's work, this script is well worth the read just to savor the writer's talent for making seemingly mundane dialog speak volumes.

This is a very under-rated and under-appreciated film!