Review of Reality Bites (1994) by Curt C — 13 Aug 2008

The tagline for the film is "A comedy about love in the 90's", but a more appropriate tag would be "life" in the 90's. The film focuses on Lelaina (Winona Ryder), valedictorian of her college, who upon graduation wants to stat making a difference in the world. Unfortunately, life gets in the way of her ambitions and she finds she has a hard enough time surviving in the world.

Reality Bites has the potential to strongly resonate with viewers of my generation; I don't know a single friend who managed to make a seamless tradition from high school to college to the "real world", myself included. The backdrop for Lelaina's struggles is a romance between herself and Michael (Ben Stiller), a corporate yuppy who is the opposite of everything she wants to be, yet she finds herself strangely attracted to.

And then, of course, there is Troy (Ethan Hawke). Clearly there is strong chemistry between the two, but Troy, while brilliant, is content to coast through life and stay away from the corporate world. Troy and Michael represent polar opposites, and Lelaina must learn more about herself before she can decide who she wants to be with. I thought the ending wrapped this message up perfectly.

This was Ben Stiller's directorial debut, and he has since only created zany comedies. Which is a shame; Reality Bites shows the depth of his talent as a director, and is unquestionably my favorite of his films.