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Reality Bites
Ben Stiller's romantic comedy shares an apartment with confused Generation X graduates Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Janeane Garofalo as they struggle to find their feet and feelings in the real world
In marketing terms, you're part of Generation X if you were in your twenties during the 1990s. For a definitive description of the ad-man's definition, watch Reality Bites. The first mainstream movie to focus on the generation, it captures its subject's aspirations and anxieties with a deal of lively humour, romance, spot-on cultural references and an evocative 32-song soundtrack of indie-pop favourites. Set in the inertia capital of the world that is Houston, Texas, the film concentrates on four recently graduated friends - university valedictorian and wannabe documentary-maker Lelaina (Ryder), her acerbic and promiscuous flatmate Vickie (Garofalo), closet homosexual Sammy (Zahn), and Troy (Hawke), a bright but truculent slacker with musical ambition, bad facial hair and feelings for Lelaina. This being the early 1990s, the quartet has a heap of problems to contend with. Vickie gets the scare of her life when she discovers one of her 66 lovers had Aids. Sammy struggles to come out to his friends and family and, like Troy, can't hold down a job, while Lelaina is worried that, like her parents, she's sacrificing her dreams at the altar of reality. We're introduced to the players and their problems with a home video that Lelaina is making as a ticket into her chosen profession. The ticket collector turns out to be Michael (Stiller), a square but amiable suit working for an MTV-style channel, who sees potential in her documentary. Flattery will get you everywhere and Lelaina starts dating Michael, thereby forcing Troy to get off the couch and compete for her affections. When he does, Lelaina must finally choose between passion and practicality. This love triangle is the film's central dramatic device, and although you know which way Lelaina will turn from the get-go, it's an engaging love story spiced up no end by the increasingly barbed exchanges between Hawke and Stiller, and Ryder's pert and radiant appeal. The film's greatest strength (and the reason why it's gained something of a cult status over the years) lies in its details - the catalogue of razor-sharp put-downs, those cool toys and ornaments scattering Lelaina's apartment, the discussions about 'Melrose Place', the references to 1970s pop-culture and advertising slogans, the thrift-shop chic, etc. The singalong soundtrack's better than most, too, with Squeeze's 'Tempted', Peter Frampton's 'Baby, I Love Your Way', New Order's 'Confusion' and U2's 'All I Want Is You' used to good effect. Debuting director Stiller's biggest coup, however, was to licence The Knack's 'My Sharona' for the film's most memorable scene, when Lelaina and friends burst into a spontaneous and delightfully goofy dance in a garage shop. Verdict It's not as important as it hoped to be, but Reality Bites did reflect the methods and mores of its generation well. A romantic heart, caustic wit, and the energy of its fresh cast ensure the film's continued appeal. |
