Review of Diner (1982) by Shawn M — 04 Feb 2008
Eddie: When you're making out, which do you prefer, Sinatra or Mathis?
Boogie: I like Presley.
A coming of age comedy about a group of guys on the verge of truly becoming adults. Its set in 1950s Baltimore, and revolves around this group mainly hanging out in a diner.
The group includes Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, and Paul Reiser. It is the natural chemistry that all these guys have together, providing for a lot of improv, that makes this an enjoyable movie to watch.
Director Barry Levinson doesn't try to break much new ground here. A similar formula has been done in a number of films, namely American Graffiti, let alone the show Happy Days. The mix of an episodic structure about a few days in the life of these characters, accompanied by some timely hit songs is almost its own genre, but its an entertaining one.
There is not so much a plot as there is a series of events that develop over time. Guttenberg is about to get married, granted his wife can pass his football test. Stern and his wife, played nicely by Ellen Barkin, are trying to work out the marriage thing, which is new to them. Bacon is mostly drunk throughout. Reiser doesn't really do anything, but has a few good lines and a nice bit at the end. And Rourke is a gambling man.
This is a fun movie about male camaraderie, and that's all its supposed to be.
Modell: You know what word I'm not comfortable with? Nuance. It's not a real word. Like gesture. Gesture's a real word. With gesture you know where you stand. But nuance? I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong.
This review of Diner (1982) was written by Shawn M on 04 Feb 2008.
Diner has generally received very positive reviews.
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