This 1992 film, directed by Cameron Crowe, was touted as a movie about the Seattle Grunge scene. It follows the lives of several singles in Seattle, all living in the same apartment complex (kind of like "Melrose Place"). From the moment you see the introspective soliloquies, with the characters speaking directly to the camera, you can tell that this is a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. Though it is uneven in tone (especially the stilted dialogue in certain scenes-- the foreign student from Spain is a good example), it does have enough going for it to make it worth while, such as the affecting performances by Campbell Scott and Kyra Sedgwick.

You have Steve (Campbell Scott), who works for the Department of Transport, and deals with trying to solve the deadlock on the highways (look, a metaphor for emotional paralysis!). He is trying to push through his idea for a Supertrain, that will get people out of their cars, and hence clear up the congestion on the roadways.

Better to be the dumper than the dumpee.
Linda (Kyra Sedgwick) works for environmental lobbyists, who loves control in her life yet paradoxically wants to give it up (garage door openers serve as a blatant metaphor for this in the first half of the film). And like her state of moral contradiction, she drives a gas-guzzling land yacht inherited from her father and tells Steve "But I still love my car."

Cliff (Matt Dillon) is a grunge musician who is the antithesis of the perfect boyfriend and Janet (Bridget Fonda) is the woman who lives upstairs and is in love with him. Debbie (Sheila Kelley) is an advertising executive who has a free video-dating subscription to use up to find the perfect man.

This film deals with many themes. One recurring one is that each character has an act for the express purpose of fooling others or themselves to maintain a sense of detachment from the isolation they feel. When Steve meets Linda for the first time in a bar, he tells her that he decided to approach her and be himself, without relying on an 'act'. Linda retorts with the speculation that his 'act' is 'not having an act'. Janet deludes herself into believing that Cliff is her boyfriend and that he loves her, even though Cliff says that he sees other people straight to her face. Janet then decides it is in her best interest to get breast implants, because that is what she feels is needed to be "Miss Right" for Cliff. In a hilarious video sequence, Debbie uses bizarre imagery in her cheesy dating video to find the perfect man.

I'm glad your lunch date didn't show up.
Me too.
Did you really have a lunch date?
No.
Another topic dealt with in "Singles" are the rituals of single life. Who calls who first? How many days do you wait before you call? Who acknowledges each phase of the relationship and when? When do you let yourself go and when do you play cool? These are the questions that the characters soul-search about. When Cliff doesn't show up at Janet's place one lonely Saturday night, she begins to play emotional games in order to decide what to do (if she sinks a basket, she'll call him... no, make it two out of three... and so on).

In terms of film-making techniques, there is an abundance of the MTV-school-of-film-making, from the over-the-shoulder-tripodless-in-your-face-documentary-look to the slo-mo tracking shots set to alternative music. To convey the sense of loneliness that these characters feel, Crowe uses a preponderance of one-shots-- shots where only one character is on the screen.

I don't want to be your girlfriend... I just want to know you again.
What took you so long?
I was stuck in traffic.
All in all, "Singles" is a worthwhile film, filled with interesting bits of exposition on single life, and also watch out for Eric Stoltz as the mime who speaks, and Ally Walker ("Profiler") as Debbie's roommate. And stick around after the credits for two deleted scenes-- a cheesy scene where magazines at a newsstand are 'talking' to Steve and a spoof of subtitled-French-films.

If you like 90s grunge music This is your movie a true classic. They got some of the bands to play in it so it’s worth the watch

I love the music and the story.

Watch it for a million reasons, but love it for this line alone:
"I was just nowhere near your neighborhood" - Steve Dunn

I love that this isn’t just a movie. It’s a time capsule of the Seattle Grunge Scene moments before it exploded across the nation and around the world. All the main bands were represented except Nirvana. Eddie Vedder, Layne Staley and the God himself CHRIS CORNELL are so young and totally unaware of the incredible journey their lives will soon be taking. Fledgling musicians on the cusp of an explosive fast track to stardom and fame.

Furthermore, the soundtrack is beyond fabulous. I wore out 5 copies before finding a digital copy. The bands played some of their biggest hits BEFORE the music was even released to the public.

If I could have one wish, it would be to jump into this world of Singles and follow my own Grunge dream. Although I’ve watched it a zillion times, this masterpiece never becomes boring or dated.

This is Cameron Crowe's fourth outing as a writer, and the second of his film's set in Seattle. The movie takes a romantic look at the early 90's Seattle scene, when music and caffeine really ruled. It captures a brief moment in time when it was really hip to live in the Northwest.
The plot is your basic mid-twenties-finding-yourself, and self-worth, type of a flick. The character's are a bit predictable, and you can pretty much figure out where the story is heading. There are a few really romantic outdoor shots, but they really just pay homage to the beauty of the city. The thing that makes this movie special though, is the cameo's, bit parts, and a slices of life that made up the Seattle scene of the time.
There is of course the well documented Pearl Jam cameo's as Matt Dillon's band. There is a cameo of Tad Doyle as the wrong number that Bridget Fonda calls. There is a funny little cameo of Tim Burton as "the next Martin Score-sayze". Peter Horton as the "bicycle guy". There is Chris Cornell rocking out to the new sound system installed into Bridget Fonda's Scirocco. Cameron Crowe has a bit part himself as a reporter interviewing Matt Dillon about the Citizen Dick song "Touch Me I'm Dick". (Mudhony anyone?) There are great live sequences of Soundgarden and of Alice in Chains. Another funny thing to note; Matt Dillon's wardrobe was taken pretty much straight off the back of Jeff Ament ... If you see any old photo's of Pearl Jam, you will see Jeff in the same shorts, tights and Edie Sedgwick t-shirt Matt sports in the movie. Ironically enough, Kyra Sedgwick, who plays Linda Powell in the movie is indeed a distant cousin to Edie Sedgwick. Also note the placement of Green River, Mother Love Bone and Mudhony shirts and pic's; also scenes filmed in Pioneer Square and Gas Works Park.
The film also captures some things that, alas, are no more. The "Java Stop", the coffee house portrayed in the movie, was actually the O.K. Hotel on Alaskan Way. This place was one of the casualties of the March 2001 earthquake. The opening shot of the graffiti on he wall of the Vogue (Mother Love Bone) has been painted over. RKCNDY, the club where most of the live music sequences were shot, closed down in 99. The most sad of these, of course is Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, whose body was found dead after an overdose in April '02.
Basically, it is not a perfect movie. The perfection lies in the way this film captures moment in time when life was pessimistic, yet optimistic and you could vent your frustration's by heading out and rocking with the coolest bands in the universe.

I know I'm dating myself here, but I came up when bands like green River, malfunkshun, mudhoney, mother love bone, and Soundgarden were still tearing up local venues and playing battles of the bands, and doing house parties and crap. This movie makes me feel hella old.. and sad... But happy at the same time.

I revisited this movie recently on-demand and it's a quality romantic comedy in a flannel shirt that still holds up if you're into the rom com genre. Looking back, I find it ironic that this is the movie that would come out of the '90s Seattle alt-rock scene, considering the grimy underbelly that ultimately claimed great creatives like Andrew Wood, Layne Staley, and of course, Kurt Cobain. There's none of that mainlining self-destruction here. The musicians are quiet and mostly look confused about being there, coming off as more like loveable goofs who attract young women such as Bridget Fonda's character, who just love and want to be loved in return.

It's strange for me watching this from middle age, as I was younger than the actors when it was released and see the movie so differently today. If this took place during any other era, featuring a cultural scene I didn't live through, I probably would have missed this one. But it's rock and roll, rockers from the grunge era are in it, and it has one of the best soundtracks of the decade. A good "date night" movie.