Movies:
Reality Bites
DVD Release: Reality Bites
- Release Date: 1998
DVD Release: Reality Bites [10th Anniversary Edition]
- Release Date: 2004
- A Retrospective: The stars look back on the making of the movie, what it was like to work together, and how much fun they had
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- Digitally remastered picture with 5.1 surround sound
- Deleted scenes with on-camera introduction from Ben Stiller
- Feature commentary with Ben Stiller and writer Helen Chlidress
- Lisa Loeb interview
- "Stay" music video
- Theatrical trailer
- Rating:
- Genre: Comedy Drama
- Movie Type: Romantic Comedy, Coming-of-Age
- Themes: Twentysomething Life, Love Triangles, Filmmaking
- Director: Ben Stiller
- Main Cast: Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Zahn
- Release Year: 1994
- Country: US
- Run Time: 98 minutes
- MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
This film was one of the more mainstream offerings in the array of films that emphasized the overly hyped "Generation X" phenomenon, a list that ranges from Slacker to Singles and includes a host of other films. Winona Ryder stars as Lelaina, a recent college graduate. Out on her own and independent from her supportive, but out-of-touch parents, Lelaina faces the realities of careers and relationships. She can't stand her internship under a local television personality (John Mahoney), and she's forced to choose between Michael (Ben Stiller), a well-intentioned music-video network executive, and Troy (Ethan Hawke), a brooding, sensitive slacker. Meanwhile, she must also protect the artistic integrity of "Reality Bites," a video documentary that depicts the everyday lives of her friends (Hawke, Janeane Garofalo, and Steve Zahn). This 1994 release also marks the feature directorial debut of Ben Stiller. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie GuideReview
Although it was unfairly derided for its perceived commodification of the grunge/slacker zeitgeist, Reality Bites is actually a rather charming if conventional film that uses its mid-'90s trappings -- AIDS tests, espresso shops, unwashed hair, '70s TV trivia, and so-so alt-rock -- as a backdrop for coming-of-age melodrama and romantic comedy. The screenplay contains some pretty sharp writing from first-time scribe Helen Childress and a stellar cast highlighted by Janeane Garafolo and Ben Stiller. Fresh from his celebrated stint in TV sketch comedy, Stiller exhibits a sure hand as a director, but it's his portrayal of a corporate scumbag who wants to prove he's still hip that helped cement his status as one of the most enjoyably neurotic leading men of the '90s. Garafolo, meanwhile, steals every scene she's in -- folding sweaters at the Gap, obsessing about her drunken sexcapades, and providing acerbic commentary on the main romantic plot. Steve Zahn is underutilized as the obligatory gay friend, his inner life reduced to a few scenes of HIV paranoia, but Swoosie Kurtz has fun in a brief role as Lelaina's mom. As for the heroine herself, Winona Ryder was at the height of her popularity when the film came out, and she invests Lelaina with the fragile luminosity and hipster wit she perfected in Heathers. Co-star Ethan Hawke, in a role similarly close to his own celebrity persona, downplays his looks with bad facial hair and an intellectual sneer, turning Troy into the sort of pretentious, defensive, cred-obsessed jerk who did not, alas, disappear from the pop-culture landscape along with Generation X. In the end, that's what makes Reality Bites more than the sum of its once-hip references; its details may be rooted in 1994, but its characters and situations are as universal as they are funny. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie GuideCast
- Winona Ryder - Lelaina Pierce
- Ethan Hawke - Troy Dyer
- Ben Stiller - Michael Grates
- Janeane Garofalo - Vickie Miner
- Steve Zahn - Sammy Gray
Swoosie Kurtz - Charlane McGregor; Joe Don Baker - Tom Pierce; John Mahoney - Grant Gubler; Bill Bolender - Truck Driver; Pat Crawford Brown - Cashier; Keith David - Roger; Karen Duffy - Actress "Elaina"; Anne Meara - Louise; Harry O'Reilly - Wes McGregor; Kevin Pollak; Afton Smith - Janine; Amy Stiller - Psychic Phone Partner; Jeanne Tripplehorn - Fashion Show Host (uncredited); Jeff Kahn - Stage Manager; Evan Dando - Actor "Roy"; Andy Dick - Rock; Renée Zellweger - Tani; John Walsh - Player #3
