Reality Bites (1994)

A documentary filmmaker and her fellow Generation X graduates face life after college, looking for work and love in Houston.

Director:

Ben Stiller

Writer:

Helen Childress

Stars:

Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo

1 win & 1 nomination.

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

Storyline

In this study of Generation X manners, Lelaina Pierce (Winona Ryder), the valedictorian of her college class, camcords her friends in a mock documentary of posteducation life. Troy Dyer (Ethan Hawke) is her best friend, a perpetually unemployed musical slacker. Vickie Miner (Janeane Garofalo) is a manager at the Gap who worries about the results of an A.I.D.S. test, while Sammy Gray (Steve Zahn) has problems grappling with his sexuality. When Lelaina meets Michael Grates (Ben Stiller), an earnest video executive who takes her homemade video to his MTV-like station, she must decide what she values - the materialism of yuppie Michael or the philosophical musings of Troy.

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Plot Keywords:

generation x | depression | houston texas | texas | nipples visible through clothing | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about love in the '90s.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Diet Coke was specifically written into the script because Helen Childress lived off of it.

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Goofs

When Lelaina totals all of the money she 'earned' from the gas station in her notebook, she sums the amounts as $389.84, when the actual total is $393.97.

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Quotes

Lelaina Pierce: I'd like to somehow make a difference in people's lives.
Troy Dyer: And I... I would like to buy them all a Coke.
Lelaina Pierce: And you wonder why we never got involved?

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Crazy Credits

Shortly after the end credits roll begins, there's a short clip of Troy and Leilaina's relationship being made into a new show on a network.

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Connections

Referenced in Law & Order: Reality Bites (2009)

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Soundtracks

Stay
Written by Lisa Loeb
Performed by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories
Produced by Juan Patino

User Reviews

Resonates with me

I really enjoyed this movie. Looking back in hindsight, I can see the selfishness of the characters, and I have read the complaints about this, but isn't that kind of the whole point of the movie? It's about people talking about not "selling out" while at the same time they ARE "selling out" in many different ways. They (the characters in the movie) are all consumers who satirize the very idea of "consumerism" but refuse to "stoop down to the level" of getting menial jobs to try and pay the bills. The movie defines for me how education isn't everything and from my own experience I have learned that sometimes the "great dream" (of being a writer, artist, musician, etc.) just doesn't pay the bills and in order to make decent money one may have to go into a field that is not originally their first choice as a means of employment. I remember being young and wistful, with dreams of being an artist, only to have to "settle" for an office job to make ends meet.

The movie does express what life was like for me at the time. I was a naive student with dreams of producing great artistic work, but who learned that what is taught in college as "reality" is not really reality at all. College students are fed with lofty artistic statements and philosophies and are taught to analyze endless aspects of society, ideals, etc., and are taught that "knowledge and education are power" but are not taught that credibility and respect are things which must be earned and that very few people actually start out at the top of the career ladder.

Overall, this continues to be one of my favorite films and I appreciate the myriad of messages that it sends, though they may, at times, be contradictory.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 February 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Reality Bites

Filming Locations:

409 West Clay Street, Houston, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,113,050, 20 February 1994

Gross USA:

$20,982,557

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$33,351,557

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jersey Films, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1