Customer Reviews

Reality Bites [VHS]

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I think that `Reality Bites' has been unfairly labeled as thin and hollow. I actually feel as though the film tackles its issues with grace and delicacy, handling the subject in a way that feels complete when the credits begin to roll. The film was never meant to be a weighty message type film but more a relaxed look at real concerns of the youths of the 90's (or `Generation X'). For what it sets out to do, I think `Reality Bites' works very well. When you couple the finely crafted script with the exceptional cast and Ben Stiller's surprisingly attune direction you have a very entertaining and satisfying cinematic experience.

The film follows a group of friends after they graduate from college and struggle to decide what to do with their lives. Their lives in general are being documented by Lelaina, an aspiring filmmaker. She passes around her video camera asking her friends intimate questions and capturing their every moment on film in order to document the struggles of the average young adult. Her friends include the promiscuous Vickie (Garofalo in a sublime supporting performance), the slacker Troy and the closeted Sammy. Together they make for an interesting group, and when you add in Michael Grates, a video executive who takes a liking to Lelaina after a fender-bender causes them to meet.

The script allows the cast to really sink into the issues their breed of young adult faces in a world that is not ready to accept them despite the fact that they are finely crafted. They are over-educated and under-appreciated and cast into a world that doesn't `get' them. Each actor really grabs hold of their character and delivers a strong and passionate performance. Janeane Garofalo is wonderful as Vickie, really getting the sense of her characters fears and ambitions. Steve Zahn is good as Sammy, but he does take a backseat to the rest of the cast. Ethan Hawke and Ben Stiller are both superbly cast as the two opposite ends of Lelaina's love life. Hawke creates a very believable mess inside of Troy, and Stiller finds new depths of sincerity in order to make Michael a likable and nearly lovable man. The real star is Winona Ryder though, who just illuminates each scene as Lelaina. She had such a wonderful year (with this and her Oscar nominated turn in `Little Women') that it is a shame to see that her star has faded to date.

In the end I must say that I was very impressed with `Reality Bites', and am pleasantly surprised to say that it is one of the hidden (or maybe more or less misunderstood) gems of the year that was 1994. Sure, the year in general was not overly impressive (aside from a few amazing films it was rather dull), but `Reality Bites' is one of the highlights of the year, and is definitely better than the film that ultimately won Best Picture (don't hate me because I'm right).

This movie changed my life. How? The books that the character 'Troy' (Ethan Hawke) either reads or references in the movie. Sure, it's a great movie but what meant the most for me was the director's or writer's (or whoever it was) choice to use or reference the following books: Martin Heidegger's "Being and Time", Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and John Steinbeck's "The Winter of Our Discontent". Read those books and you will be forever changed!

I LOVE this movie. Its definitely one of my favorite go-to movies, although I don't think it was/is a very popular one. Maybe I like it because I'm a girl, (my husband doesn't really like it, but loves Ben Stiller so I made him watch it) but I think both sexes would be entertained by it. A perfect, early 90's-era flick about the lives of young 20-somethings. I think it has a really good cast of characters and is very entertaining!

"Reality Bites" stars Oscar nominees Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, plus Ben Stiller, Jeneane Garofalo, and Steve Zahn. Ben Stiller makes his fine directorial debut in this film. This is a great coming-of-age comedy proving that being independant isn't as great as it looks. The plot of four college graduates moving into a house together is highly entertaining, especially considering all four people have opposite personalities. All of them combined as one adds lots of laughs: a college valedictorian, a sexually active person, a non-motivated rocker, and a mellow person hiding a secret. Comedy and drama combine in the perfect scenes, namely everyone's life struggles, the making of the documentary, and falling in love. Though certain life aspects could have been expressed more thoroughly, the film ideas are brilliant. The acting from all the performers are great, especially Winona Ryder. All offer their own movie theme perspectives, which are mastered greatly. "Reality Bites" is a great memory flashback from a great entertainment era, the mid-90's. This will surely entertain many audiences.

The first time I saw this movie was on HBO. But then I had gotten it on video and now DVD. It's timeless and still fits into today's culture. Since the 90's of course wasn't that too long ago. Winona Ryder who plays college graduate Lelaina Pierce who likes to make documentaries. She is making a documentary of her friends who are played by: Ethan Hawke (Troy), the funny Janeane Garofalo (Vickie), Steve Zahn (Sammy), and Ben Stiller (Michael). Each of them goes through their own troubles Troy's father is suffering from Cancer and is dying, Vickie worries that she might have AIDS, Sammy is struggling to tell his parents that he's gay...and Lelania is stuck in the middle of a love triangle between Michael and Troy. It's realistic thrown in with great comedy and a great cast and storyline. Not to mention it has a great soundtrack. (You may also try to see if you can spot another upcoming star Renee Zellweger in the movie :).

The DVD in itself is a great buy. It is in a widescreen format. And has theatrical trailers, and also production notes of the movie. If your a fan of the movie this is the DVD for you.

What none of the other reviewers have expressed is the fact that this movie is so much more than just Lanie's love triangle. It's not "just another twenty-something's movie". The makers of this film lead us into the family lives of our new friends. We see why they are so confused. It also shows the audience that there are those of us out there who have college degrees and don't know what the hell to do after we take off the cap and gown. It is by far one of my all time favorites.

I Loved this movie! It had everything: comedy, realism, and the ability to make you laugh and cry. The acting is superb. Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Zahn and Ben Stiller are excellent.
Lelaina Pierce (Ryder) is the valedoctorian of her college and should have her entire life mapped out for her, but all she has is a job at a morning talk show called 'Good Morning Grant' where she makes barely enough money to cover her rent. (For all those Frasier fans out there Grant is well acted by John Mahoney who plays Frasier's father on the show.) Her best friend Vickie (Garofalo) has just been promoted to manager at the Gap, and her other friend Sammy (Zahn) is coming to terms with his sexuality. Troy (Hawke) is her other troubled best friend who is the lead singer of a band and is in love with Lelaina. Lelaina videotapes all her friends making a documentary about their lives and their troubles, and she meets a guy named Michael (Stiller) who she begins dating, and who wants to turn her documentary into a television show for the network he works for called In Your Face TV.
The movie has a plot that appears so simple, yet it applies to everyone everywhere. It tries to answer the question: what to do when you just get out of college and where should life go?
Lelaina is also trapped in a love triangle and has to decide who she wants to be with more: Hawke, her closest friend or Stiller (who makes an excellent directorial debut), someone who loves Lelaina but also wants to profit from her documentary.
There are cameos from actors such as Renee Zellweiger, David Spade, and Swoozie Kurtz (who plays Lelaina's mother in one scene).
This film is one of my favorite movies of all time and is one that should be more well-known. It also has a fiere soundtrack, featuring artists like the Knack (Sharona), and Lisa Loeb, so I highly suggest you buy that as well.
"There's no point to all of this. It's just a random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near escapes. So I take pleasure in the details. You know... a quarter-pounder with chesse, those are good, the sky before it starts to rain, the moment where your laughter becomes a cackle... and I, I sit back and smoke my Camel Straights and I ride my own melt..."-Troy from Reality Bites...
SO BUY THE MOVIE!

A fun movie all around! Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke are definately the standout stars! Eventhough it's basically a romance movie it still rocks the house! I looooove the gen X 90's feeling it has to it. It really took me back. Lalaine's desire to hustle money was a great learning lesson, too. I also think that she picked the best one in the end. But, the best thing about Reality Bites is it's great filming location. H-TOWN! Makes me sooooo proud to be from here!

The opening speech by Lelaina (Winona Ryder) at the beginning sets an accurate mood for the rest of the film: optimism tinged with confusion and a lack of direction. In reality, the young adults in this film depict only a small slice of their generation, those who "aren't interested in the counterculture that they [our parents] invented as if we did not see them disembowel their revolution for a pair of running shoes." I may be a few years behind the generation portrayed in the film, but I'm not entirely without empathy for the restless plight of this group of slackers. Even so, the speech is a horrible oversimplification of the generation gap of the time, and the film is more easily digested if the core group of characters is seen as only one slice of a very large generation.

There is a lot of similarity between Reality Bites and films like Garden State and Harold and Maude, sharing the same ennui and restlessness that seems insatiable and overwhelming. The striking difference, though, is Reality Bites' strong sense of friendship and community as a means of overcoming this ennui. I felt that if any of these characters were left entirely to himself, he would commit suicide, and the core group of friends is what saved them all.

Unfortunately, their friendships are not enough to keep them from slipping into a dangerous selfishness and narcissism: Lelaina refuses for a while to find a paying job, and only seems to be attracted to Troy (Ethan Hawke) because of the emotions he conjures up in her; Troy, even after saying that she is the only woman he could commit to, says, "You can't navigate me, I might do mean things, and I might hurt you and I might run away without your permission"; Vickie (Janeane Garofalo) is addicted to sex but hates the thought of a lasting relationship; and Sammy (Steve Zahn) is full of wounded pride. Michael (Ben Stiller) is intellectually shallow, but he seems to be the only person with any emotional maturity, and he easily sees through Troy's snobby attitude.

ENDING SPOILERS: The film ends with a romance between Lelaina and Troy that seems destined to end badly if Troy doesn't wise up and accept the criticism that's been levelled at him. There's a part of me that cheered for him, but a larger part that wanted to smack him in the face until he wised up and applied for grad school. The problem with these kids is that they are immature, and have no ideal of maturity to attain to. Their parents (of the rebellious 60s generation) rejected their own parents' ideas of maturity, and so their own children have very little left to work with. Reality Bites is more of a romantic tragedy than a romantic comedy, even though it seems to turn out well in the end. I really wanted the characters to find something better to build their lives on, but when the credits rolled I was afraid they would just keep repeating their mistakes for the rest of their lives.

For what it's worth, the acting and directing are quite good, though not great. I got a kick out of seeing so many big-name actors at a younger age. Ben Stiller's direction is good, and not as manic as what he later did in Zoolander. Unfortunately there aren't any special features except production notes and a forgettable trailer.

No, this film bites! Has there ever been another film where the main characters are so unlikable? Winona Ryder is supposed to be the valedictorian of her class, and her acquaintance Ethan Hawke is routinely described as having a "high IQ" - yet they are both lazy, criminally inclined and, well, unlikable. Ben Stiller plays a buffoon executive who is so inarticulate as to invite audience scorn.

Nor are the situations plausible. Ryder, the "valedictorian," forgets the final pages of her speech and can't perform simple arithmetic after 3 attempts. (???) Later, at work she whines, "I only make $300 dollars a WEEK!!!" If the producers had done any research into a typical valedictorian, they might have found out that most get there by hard work and discipline, can actually perform simple math, and have decent starter jobs lined up far in advance of graduation.

But ignoring that for the moment, you still have to wonder why the producers were so off-base on Gen-Xers, presumably their target audience. If they had bothered to check, they would have found tons of minimum wage earners (which, at the time the movie came out, was LESS than $200 per week!), kids sharing housing with 10-15 friends to make ends meet, second hand cars or no cars at all, no health insurance, or living with mom just to survive etc. - and most of them not going ballistic about it either. But instead, we have Winona in a professional job atmosphere - no hedge trimming or dish washing here - making a reasonable starter wage, which we are supposed to believe is unbearable. Apparently since Hollywood types have a tough time making it on $1,000,000+ per year, they figure only the homeless earn $300 per week.

So, Ryder, up to her armpits in "angst," embarrasses the guy she's working for on national TV and gets fired. She then sits around in her apartment aimlessly, calls the psychic hotline and steals hundreds of dollars from her father. Yes, this is your valedictorian displaying the work habits that got her to the top of her class.

Ethan Hawke is lazy, criminally inclined, and irritating. So, naturally Ryder falls for him. That, I guess, is the only redeemable point in the movie. When viewers want to know "how on EARTH could SHE take up with HIM??" the answer is, correctly, "hey, reality bites."

It's too bad to see talented actors wasted in a film like this, because they deserve better.