Grimerlana Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

twhiteson "Reality Bites" was a trumped-up MTV-like production about characters who are nothing more than Generation X stereotypes: unemployed or underemployed, college grad "slackers" with encyclopedic knowledge of 1970's pop culture. Essentially, it's a 99 minute dramatized "Real Word" episode about four friends who struggle with their post college lives. However, two of the characters (Janeane Garafolo and Steve Zahn) are so underdeveloped that they could have been dropped from the film. The film focuses almost entirely on "Lelaina" (an extremely pretty Winona Ryder) and "Troy" (Ethan Hawke) whose "friends-to-possible lovers" relationship develops into a bewildering love triangle when TV executive "Michael" (Ben Stiller who also directed) enters the scene and makes a play for Lelaina."Reality Bites" has a trite plot which is additionally hurt by its thoroughly unlikable characters especially Mr. Hawke's contemptible Troy. Scuzzy, manipulative, mooching, arrogant, and conceited and those are Troy's good traits! An unemployed philosophy major who plays guitar in a bad grunge band, Troy is played-up as the archetypal 1990's hipster-slacker who has taken hardened stances against getting a job and washing his hair. And when confronted by the kind and responsible Michael as a rival for Lelaina's affections, he oozes his contempt for "corporate America" (ie anyone who has a job). In other words, he's a complete jerk!The love triangle here makes no sense other than maybe to the prove to so-called "Nice Guys" everywhere that good looking women actually do prefer arrogant, d-bag creeps just because they're arrogant, d-bag creeps.The mystery of this film has always been: are we actually supposed to like and admire Troy? It made no sense in 1994 and even less today. My only theory is that Ben Stiller, overwhelmed by his directing duties, played Michael as too much of a decent man rather than the shallow "suit" that the screenplay probably required. But a shallow "suit" would STILL be preferable to Troy!In sum: it really is a case of "nice guys finishing last" as Troy walks-off with the ditzy and shallow Lelaina at film's end. Yet, as another reviewer put it nicely, she didn't deserve Michael if she thinks a relationship with a sleazy leech like Troy is going to lead to anything but heartbreak.(One side note: it's clear that Ethan Hawke thought Troy was pretty cool because he stayed in character as him for the next 15 years.)

oiltrader Winona was great.Ben was average, directing was decent.Steve and Jan were barely there.And Ethan was a complete failure. He is the pivot point that does not turn.There is no poignancy to this narrative.There is nothin funny about this movie. 'Nuff said.

jessegehrig Yeah, I saw this movie. What would you like to know? What are the names of the actors in this movie? That's an example of the types of questions you can ask. Who directed this movie? Are they from America? Does this movie have a soundtrack? These are other examples of really good questions to ask me. Here is like another good question- Does what happens in the movie, like is it important, like is it significant to the plot? This is the part of the review where I try to stretch it, y'know, ran out of things to say but I'm still trying to meet the bare minimum of what constitutes for a review. These last few words here should do just that.

dkstory1 http:// storiestoriesdk.wordpress.com/2011/08/20/ reality-will-bite-eventually/Hi everyone , since this movie marked my teenage years in a way and today I got a little nostalgic a text for that in my blog feel free to read it and tell my what you think. It is not really a review it is more how some films affect us even if they aren't the greatest piece of film history, however generation X and this was surely a glamorized version of it feels like the hippies of the 60's compared to what we are experiencing now. And although the cynic in me says that this film is a bunch of clichés at times and characters that are more stereotypical filled with songs that are there to manipulate your emotions I have a soft spot for it since it made me feel something that people would usually experience with theirs favorite band and so on