Diner

Barry Levinson's pictures always succeed in painting a nostalgic feelgood picture of a certain era. Really lovely to watch, but the downside of director Barry Levinson's pictures is the fact that they are always a bit safe. No big dramas, no experiments. Despite this characteristic "Diner" is still a very endearing and touching story.

As far as "Diner" is concerned I think that this is probably Levinson's best work, because of the excellent true to life depiction of young adult's life in the fifties. It feels as if I was right there.

The story is about a group of friends who are on the verge of losing their freedom of their youth because marriage and boring jobs are waiting for them. "Diner" is the excellent warm hearted portrait of one last brawl together with their childhood friends, before everyboby realizes they have to enter the world of the grown ups, with all the accompanying, depressing responsibilities that come along with it.

"Diner" is a fun-filled, perfectly inspired comedy/drama, which is talented director Barry Levinson's first effort. Needless to say, there's no strong plot structure, but when you have solid, memorable characters like these, that's not necessary. Almost every one of these characters are memorable in their own ways. Nobody "steals the show."

The cast is highly spirited, as I sensed great joy in their performances. The chemistry between the characters is very genuine, and not surprisingly Barry Levinson made sure the actors got well-acquainted with each other before shooting.

I can tell Levinson based many of these scenarios on real-life situations. Scenes like these cannot be developed in the mind of some phony Hollywood hack screenwriter. The nostalgia practically bleeds out the screen, in his solid attention to detail. And that's one of the reasons why this film works. I can actually imagine Levinson sitting back and watching the film with a big smile, chuckling intermittently as he reminisces back to moments from his adolescence. When a director is joyful about his work, that joy transfers to his audience. One of the scenes in which that joy is most evident is when Daniel Stern's character throws a fit about his girlfriend, Ellen Barkin, wrongly categorizing his records and never asking him "what's on the flip side?" Levinson obviously has a passion for the music of his time, and rightfully so, because a lot of great music comes from the 50's. And lucky for me, the film's soundtrack is filled with many of those great tunes.

There are many memorable moments and lines of dialogue. The football quiz is definitely something to be remembered. But my favorite is the famous "roast beef sandwich" argument. Paul Reiser asks Steve Guttenberg if that's a roast beef sandwich he's eating, and Guttenberg can sense he wants a bite from the sandwich, so he yells out, "Just say it! 'I want the roast beef sandwich!'" It's a brilliant, "Seinfeld"-type scene which revolves around a banal subject, but you can't help but be delightfully amused, because let's fact it--the things we relate most to are the simple things in life. Movies about politics can be interesting, but what if you're not a politician or someone who doesn't give a damn about politics? Eating is someone everyone can relate to. Friendship is something everything can relate to. And male bonding is something all men can relate to.

If "Waiting to Exhale" best demonstrates the strength of female bonding, I feel this film best demonstrates the strength of male bonding. I used to feel that women had a stronger bond, since they're more affectionate and in touch with their feelings. But when jealousy enters the equation, even the most long-term friendship between two women can be butchered. I've actually talked to several women who feel more comfortable with male friends, and don't very much trust other women. However, guys stick together. We may badmouth each other left and right and bust each other's chops, but the bond remains the same. Some females may interpret this is as a misogynistic film, because other than Ellen Barkin's character, there are no major or supporting female characters. And Steve Guttenberg's would-be wife is never revealed--at least her face is never shown. But this is simply to stress the theme of male bonding; not to show that women aren't important.

"Diner" is a film for those who enjoy funny, moving, character-driven nostalgia films with fine actors. Hell, even Mickey Rourke, who I'm not a big fan of, gives a fine three-dimensional performance. But everyone in the cast is worth praising in equal doses: Daniel Stern, Paul Reiser (despite his brief screen time), Kevin Bacon, Steve Guttenberg, Tim Daly, Ellen Barkin.

My score: 8 (out of 10)

As far as capturing a bygone era, DINER is a superb piece of cinematic worldbuilding: the cars, clothes, music, and popular culture shown all scream of the 1950s without glamming up the period too much, as everything looks lived-in and ordinary. The acting is superb across the board with Mickey Rourke as the standout.

The story itself is nothing too special. It clearly wants to be like AMERICAN GRAFFITI, capturing a sense of lost innocence and Baby Boomer nostalgia, but I did not care for the characters at all. When it comes to characters in a story, they have to be at least one of two things: sympathetic or interesting. The folks peopling DINER are neither. Most of the stories don't add up to much either: I was most interested in Rourke's conflict with the mob and the dilemma of the young pregnant woman who wants to keep her job rather than become a housewife, but none of this goes anywhere.

Much has been made of the misogyny in the film, but I have to give the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt-- it's probably intentional since all these guys are self-absorbed, immature, and (with the exception of the Timothy Daly character) unable to see the women in their lives as anything other than add-ons to their own lives. None of this is portrayed as natural or good, though it is true that the women in the film don't receive much development... though again, neither do the male characters, hence my disinterest in the film as anything other than a technically competent exercise in nostalgia.

PS To be honest, the only scene where I laughed was during the hilarious butchering of "Blue Moon" at the wedding. That's it.

Diner, Barry Levinson's writing and directing debut belongs to so-called "small" or "minor" movies and it indeed does not have spectacular locations, breathtaking action sequences or even dramatic story. As Kevin Bacon comments in the Behind the Scenes Documentary, "There's not that much of a story, really. What do we do? We drive around..." What the movie has is "a very honest portrayal of a group...of guys that people relate to on a very personal level." The different generations of viewers react to film with devotion and recognition, and Diner has become one of the beloved long time cult favorites. Based on its writer/director's memories of growing up in Baltimore, the film takes place during the week between Christmas and New Year in 1959, and tells of the friendship of five guys in their early twenties. During the course of the film, we will get to know the young men, their fears of growing up, facing responsibilities, and making decisions, their fascination and insecurities with the girls.

From his Oscar-nominated script, BL makes the study of young men who hesitate to grow up but rather hang out in their beloved Diner. Daniel Stern's 'Shrevie' is an owner of LP collection that he seems to value more than his young and pretty wife (Ellen Barkin in her film debut). Mickey Rourke, played his best role (at least, IMO) as Boogy, the cynical womanizer with the most charming smile. Steve Guttenberg's Eddie puts his fiancée through the enormously difficult football quiz and the passing score is the must for the marriage because he is scared to get married. Kevin Bacon plays Fenwick, a permanently drunk and lost kid, the character much darker than the rest of the guys. Timothy Daly is Bill who seems to be the most successful of the bunch, and know what he wants but can't make the girl he loves to love him. By making Diner, Levinson actually put his native city, sleepy and provincial 1959 Baltimore, on the cinema map, and that's just one of movie's pleasures. And there are plenty. Diner is filled with authentic and believable scenes, situations, and conversations that everyone can relate to. The Diner's menu has a lot to offer to the grateful viewers and fans of the insightful, ironic, entertaining, small but bright and shiny gem. Barry Levinson does not flatter six protagonists but he understands them and loves them because he sees in them the indelible part of his own life, his experiences, and his own childhood friends. As another great film about childhood friendship says, "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"

Barry Levinson went on to create many good and very good films after Diner. These are just a few: The Natural, Good Morning, Vietnam; Bugsy; Avalon; Sleepers, An Everlasting Piece, Disclosure, Wag the Dog, and his Oscar winner "Rain Man" but Diner will always have a very special place for me. This is the film I keep coming back to again and again, and as the time passes it only gets better.

I can't believe how many posters missed the point of the film.

The basic premise of the film is how men don't understand women and are even afraid of them.

Guys DO talk about women like meat when they are with other men. Did you expect them to gush about a female's personality to his fellows in the late '50s???????

See how guys even refer to Carol Heathrow as "death". Women are not to be understood and to be feared.

And the reason we never see Eddie's bride....think about it,,,if you SAW her, you'd make a judgement about that actress. "Wow, how could a guy pass her up just because she doesn't know more about football?" That's the reason we never see her. We must only know that Eddie loves her but is scared to marry her for various reasons. The moment we saw her face, there would be too many value judgements about whether Eddie is nuts to make her take the test. For thodse who complained about her face not being shown, ask yourself if it would have tainted your opinion of Eddie's requirement for marriage.

Sure, the movie doesn't SEEM like it has a plot. But it's just a slice of life in 1959, the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve....and we share that week.