REALITY BITES
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1994 Scott Renshaw
Starring: Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofolo,
Steve Zahn.
Screenplay: Helen Childress.
Director: Ben Stiller.
In print and television interviews, everyone associated with REALITY BITES has been trying desperately to convince potential viewers that it's not a "Generation X" movie, but just a simple romantic comedy.
Yeah. Right.
REALITY BITES follows SLACKER; SINGLES; and BODIES, REST & MOTION in the sweepstakes to most accurately capture the 20-something zeitgeist, but I found it more reminiscent of star Winona Ryder's breakthrough film HEATHERS. While REALITY BITES does include some very funny moments and finely observed insight, it also tends to reduce its central characters to a collection of kitschy bon mots.
Ryder stars in REALITY BITES as Lelaina Pierce, a recent college grad living in Houston. Lelaina, an aspiring filmmaker, works as an intern at a local morning talk show while filming a documentary about herself and her closest friends: acerbic roommate Vickie (Janeane Garofolo), a clerk at the Gap; cynical grunge musician Troy (Ethan Hawke); and in-the-closet gay Sammy (Steve Zahn). Tensions begin when Troy loses his job and moves in with Lelaina and Vickie, then heighten when Lelaina begins dating Michael (Ben Stiller), an executive for MTV-clone In Your Face TV. Their relationship forces Troy to deal with his feelings for Lelaina, and about responsibility in general. Meanwhile, Vicke faces an HIV test, and Sammy considers coming out to his parents.
REALITY BITES is strongest on the level of details and the number of individual laughs of recognition they provide. I will admit to participating in a group sing-along of "Conjunction Junction" like these characters, and to playing games based on sit-com episodes. Screenwriter Helen Childress, all of 23 years old, realizes that the common thread binding her chronological peers is 1970s schlock culture, and the disillusionment born of watching their parents conspicuously credit consume them out of a bright future. Vickie is perhaps the most recognizable type to me; I know a few people who cover their walls with old music posters and beg for you to turn up bad power pop songs with memories of junior high school dances. More so than SINGLES, REALITY BITES identifies the sense of ideological drift that characterizes Americans in their mid-20s, but without the moody self-importance of BODIES, REST & MOTION.
This is not to say that Childress doesn't also give in to easy stereotypes. Every parent in REALITY BITES is characterized by a cartoonish materialism, and becomes an easy target for blame. Lelaina never develops a distinct personality, instead becoming a representation of the job traumas of the generation. The romantic triangle doesn't have quite the impact it could have had because as attractive as Ryder is, she doesn't seem nearly as interesting as, say, Vickie. Troy is an even more problematic character, a first class self-absorbed jerk who philosophizes in bastardized advertising jingles. The transformation Childress tries to foist off on us is far too contrived, and she seems too willing to let Troy's attitude stand as an acceptable response to the world he perceives. Fortunately, they are somewhat balanced by two delightful supporting performances. Comic Janeane Garofolo (TV's THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW) is hysterical as Vickie, displaying a natural timing which makes the most mundane lines funny. Director Ben Stiller is charming as Lelaina's perpetually flustered suitor, and should be congratulated for risking the hesitating delivery which makes his character appear very real.
I have to note that I was extremely disappointed by the ending of REALITY BITES, but that may say more about me than about the film. While there are numerous character stumbles, overall I felt the tone was on target, and I laughed a lot. REALITY BITES off a bit more than it can chew, but it all goes down eventually.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 Big Gulps: 7.
-- Scott Renshaw Stanford University Office of the General Counsel
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