Boring

Beautiful, moving film.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Generation X college graduates struggle to find their way. Valedictorian Lelaina Pierce (Winona Ryder) tries to maintain her sincere believes while making a documentary about her group and working at Grant Gubler's morning show. Troy Dyer (Ethan Hawke) is her best friend and a willful womanizing slacker. Vickie Miner (Janeane Garofalo) is concerned that she has become a manager at the Gap. Sammy Gray (Steve Zahn) is trying to come to terms with his sexuality. Music TV executive yuppie Michael Grates (Ben Stiller) crashes into Lelaina's car leading into a romance.This is an iconic Gen X movie. Winona is adorable. Ethan Hawke is at the height of his slacker cool. There is great music. There is great slacker dialog. The only problem is that Ben Stiller is not a big enough jerk. That breaks a cliché from the traditional rom-com. One breaks the formula at one's own risk. Although who doesn't want to dance in a gas station convenient store?

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." - Goethe "Work Makes Freedom" - sign above Auschwitz entrance The directorial debut of Ben Stiller, "Reality Bites" is a well meaning but slight film which hopes to capture the tempo and anxieties of Generation X. The film revolves around a small cast of young adults (Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller, Steve Zahn), all of whom are raging caricatures. There's the artist, the sex junkie, the drop out, the corporate sell out and of course the always-precious Winona Ryder, who serves as our window into their world. She faces well worn conflicts: does she pursue a career in the arts, or trade her dreams and aspirations for a "reliable" corporate job? Does she settle down with a "loser" musician, or a likable but stiff businessman in a suit? At the heart of the film is therefore a tug-of-war between the logic and rationales of techno capitalism and the sensitive soul's vague yearnings for something else.Whilst the film is absent of analysis or serious insight, it does capture a certain relevant vacuity. Stiller's whiny young adults hang in limbo, aimless, lethargic, high-strung and always placating themselves with material or biochemical pleasures. Deeming the adult world abhorrent, they flutter in the wind, unable to function in it, but unable to conceive of, latch onto or find something else.Other anxieties abound: fears of rejection, poverty, success and judgement turn all these characters into emotion wrecks. They're stuck in post graduate delirium and quarter life crises, some pushed into self promotion, solipsism and competition, others opting to instead drop out of the game altogether.Like all these films, "Reality Bites" turns its back on a deeper reality. It ignores the fact that its anxieties are essentially social symptoms spawned by social systems. Indeed, our very neurological structure is closely tied to, and is necessarily continuous with, environmental relations, which are themselves directly responsible for certain neurological or synaptic connections flourishing or atrophying and dying off. In a very real sense, you are continually being built by the "outside". By individualising what is systemic, these films thus override the possibility of their subjects becoming agents, rather than patients, of their symptoms.Whilst there are hundreds of films like "Reality Bites" about Generation's Xers, Generation Y's anxieties don't seem to make it to cinema screens. Maybe they've been completely inculcated, have self medicated themselves into zombiedom, or simply have no use for cinema, the stuffy medium of their forefathers. Perhaps with interactive media supplanting old media, the quaint idea of stories, and even the audience/object dichotomy itself, is displaced by a situation in which the anxiety tale is writ on the subject itself; their virtual and real bodies are the new anxiety performance.Cynicism and irony were a huge part of Generation X's identity. They saw the ideals, dreams and possibilities of the Baby Boomers get thoroughly squashed. The result was a generation which recognised the "reality" that rebellion and honest dissent would either fail or make one a laughing stock. Authentic emotional expression was to be buried or cocooned in irony/cynicism, lest one risk ridicule or hurt. But Generation X at least knew how to smell BS. Generation Y's thoroughly of the post-everything, multicultural, accept-everything entertainment world. They're both stronger and more fragile, supremely confident and well adjusted, but perhaps with a nihilism buried so deep they're not even aware of it, shuffling off to the abattoir with smiling faces, heads bobbing to personalised play-lists. No surprise that The Journal of Social Psychology reports that Millennials think about social problems less, have less interest in government, family and community, and have a very inflated sense of self which in turn leads to unrealistic expectations and chronic disappointment. They're also pushing back each of the five milestones of adulthood: completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying and having kids. But maybe this is all overly pessimistic. Maybe it's stereotyping. Maybe every generation's a mass of differences, simultaneously ahead of its time, of its time, and of the past. Or maybe it's prophetic that our next generation will be dubbed Generation Z; a nation of snoozers.7.5/10 - Worth one viewing.

this movie made me want to have grown up in the 90s! actually, i was 2yrs old when it came out so i didn't watch it until a few days ago. so obviously i don't know it its depiction of that generation is too accurate. But the thing is that even if on the surface it seems different today, the core of their angst remains the same. as a university student and an "adult" i'm supposed to have everything figured out and be in complete touch with who i really am inside. but the truth is that i'm so far from it, it's a miracle i can make any decisions about my future. i know what i want but i don't exactly who i am. weird, right?! so i really don't think its outdated or too old to relate to. also, i read some of the other reviews that criticized the characters; like how much Ryder's character nags, or how cynical or simply lazy hawk's character is, or how slutty and stereotypical Vicky is. i simply disagree; everyone is annoying and has depression periods in their lives when cant find a job after college, when they had all these hopes and dreams when graduating. troy is not lazy and is not too philosophical, he is simply a smart individual who refuses to get submerged by all those corporate society elements around him. and Vicky is just a normal young woman that works hard (becoming manager of the gap) and plays hard (sexual life and AIDS scare).so instead of looking at it in a really superficial manner, the deeper point of view is fascinating. and the implied meanings (fear, dreams, love, existence,...) with many more reasons, are what makes this one of my favorite movies.

When I have overviews being written about Ben Stiller in various magazines and TV programs,they all mention how he first started out in indie films,before he got discovered by a more "mainstream" audience.After having a look at the back cover,and seeing the very impressive cast listings,I was looking forward to an amazing laugh- riot.Instead,I found the film to be shockingly light on laughs of any kind.The plot:A group of Generation X students graduate from college,and realise the it is time that they all enter the real world,and look for a real job.One of them (Celaina Pierce)has been making a documentary film about her friends,whilst she has been stuck at being an assistant to a TV chat-show host,that cant stand her.Suddenly,a sign of hope appears,when a very trendy music TV producer (Michael Grates) crashes into her car!.Due to how genuinely apologetic Michael seems to be (and also due to him being a producer)Ceclaina shows him the documentary that she has been making.Whilst this should be the first step to a clear path to stardom for Celaina,she sadly,has to decide if she wants to enter the "sell-out mainstream" world,or if she should stick to her Gen X friends.Which include her friend Troy,who is trying to figure out what his true feelings are for her...View on the film:For a film that has such a craving to be seen as part of the early to mid nineties alternative scene,it just feels completely artificial and hollow.One of the things that surprised me was,that apart from a handful of some very good tracks,the film completely skips over making any references to the excellent films,music and novels of the era.Whilst all of the strong cast give acceptable performances,they are sadly let down by the terrible screenplay by Helen Childres.Which includes very badly-written sub-story lines for Celainas friends (a story line involving Janeane "Larry Sanders" Garofalo,waiting for results on being diagnosed with AIDS,is written as such a minor thing,that it should have been cut out at the earliest stages of the screenplay.)The main romance in the film between Celaina and Troy completely crumbles,due to there hardly being any chemistry between them,and also because Troy is a very nasty egotistical bully threw out the whole film.Final view on the film:A strong cast,let down by a very badly written,completely unfunny screenplay.