REALITY BITES
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1994 Michael John Legeros
Directed by Ben Stiller Writen by Helen Childress Starring Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, and Steve Zahn. MPAA Rating PG-13 Running Time 98 minutes
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"Define irony."
- Anne Meara (Ben's mom) to Winona Ryder
REALITY BITES doesn't quite add up. On the surface, this agreeable romantic comedy seems like a landmark achievement from both director Ben Stiller and writer Helen Childress. It's funny, it's handsome, and it boasts a *very* appealing cast.
Touche, Richard Linklater, REALITY BITES is also Hollywood's first saga about today's disillusioned, post-college youth. A group better known as "Generation X." Comic book forthcoming.
The film centers on Leaina Pierce (Ryder), a recent Houston, Texas grad. Formerly the class valedictorian--who closed her speech with the sentence "There's no answer."--she now works as an intern on a morning television show. She also moonlights as an amateur filmmaker.
Her roommates are a motley crew. There's Troy (Hawke), a musician who excels at lost jobs and umkempt hair. And Sammy (Zahn), also unemployed but known to bathe. And Vickie (Garofalo), proud manager of a Gap clothing store.
All living and breathing and eating together. All in the throes of dating woes. And all being filmed for Leaina's documentary.
With its film-within-a-film subplot, REALITY BITES sounds the perfect "verite" vehicle for an exploration of "X." Wrong! REALITY BITES is a completely conventional film right down to the squishy, happy Hollywood ending. Which is not needed in a story rich with both humor *and* insight.
These are kids raised on sitcoms and advertising; kids who talk in jingles and don't understand why their worlds cannot be restored at the end of the half-hour. To which Troy can only comment "Mr. Brady died of AIDS."
Who needs formula with psychology like this?
Ryder, Hawke, and the rest of the gang are tremendous appealing. Even if they need baths and better clothes. Ryder, in particular, is a dynamite presence. Watch for John Mahoney, who steals a couple scenes as a chatty TV host, and an unbilled Jeanne Tripplehorn.
With Stiller's smart direction and good gag after gag, REALITY BITES feels fine up to a point. After about an hour of endless references to the seventies, something doesn't just add up. These kids were infants at that time! How do they know so much about disco and "Good Times" and PLANET OF THE APES? Do reruns *really* contain that much detail?
Honestly, REALITY BITES feels like it was written by someone in their their '30's. The cultural references just don't add up and it makes an for an incongruity that almost pushes the film into fantasy. Is writer Helen Childress (in her '20's) *really* taking the pulse of America's young-adults. Or did she just find the perfect world to populate with phony characters?
Suggested alternate title: FANTASY BITES.
Bottom line: REALITY BITES is a tremendously appealing,
old-fashioned-disguised-as-new romantic comedy.
Questionable cultural references may bother some.
Grade: B
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