Diner (1982)

Memorable, crazy movie

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

When a movie has star quality, it must be good. For "Diner", it's Great! I mean just look at the list: Steve Guttenberg, Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Daniel Stern, Tim Daly, Ellen Barkin, and Paul Reiser. Set in 1959 Baltimore, the gang are enjoying the last week of the 50's. One of them is about to get married, while the others talk about different stuff that they don't care about, or just as obnoxious as the person who says it. Though in their 20's, they still act like they're younger. One plays a joke claiming the car is wrecked, in which he staged it to look like it was wrecked. The diner scenes are all to common. Debating, trading food, comparing, and other whatnot's. The one scene that got me the most is when Boogie(Rourke) unzipped his fly, and put the popcorn box in his pants while watching "A Summer Place". He freaked her out when his "member" peeked from the popcorn. He explained his situation, and she's cool about it. Other women would run for their lives. Then there was the late night jam when two of the friends decided to kick up the joint, and everyone have a great time. We all need to grow up, but who says who has to stay that way. Watch this movie, and you'll be back in your youth. 5 stars.

You gotta love a movie that holds up.Not much needs to be said.Written and directed by Barry Levinson, nominated for Best Screenplay and set in Baltimore 1959.I'll try not to spoil anything, because if you like movies and haven't seen this gem, you must catch it soon. It's funny, poignant and has a spectacular cast.I can't get enough of Paul Reiser's character, Modell. Good Golly he's funny.Discussing the concept of evolution, Reiser speaks one of my favorite lines, "The guy who makes up this stuff it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard - people do not come from swamps. They come from Europe."This line comes from potentially the best post-movie credit sequence I've ever seen (or rather, heard). It's a philosophical comedic audio layover, a bonus diner conversation; an adequate apology for the abrupt freeze-frame ending.I love how Reiser's constantly hassling Steve Guttenberg's character for rides. They're all such close friends, Reiser manages to never actually ask for the lift, he always gets The Gute to offer.A young Mickey Rourke is almost unrecognizable in this film. And he delivers a spectacular performance.Daniel Stern's character is also great, now that I think about it. You know him from Home Alone. His character is such a well-meaning fella. When he argues with his wife over his records, you don't know who to root for, and it'll set your heart-strings aquiver.It can get dusty at times.Stern also has a great moment with Guttenberg, when he explains that getting married doesn't necessarily make life any easier.Kevin Bacon's character is, as always, excellently executed. He is like a tightly wound spring, but worth much more than first appears.The minor character who memorizes the lines from "Sweet Smell of Success," cracks me up every time he interrupts a conversation.I'm not sure if women will enjoy this film as much as men. The themes seem very masculine; they reflect the subtleties of my interactions with my male friends. I'd be interested to hear if women feel like they really connect with certain aspects of the movie.One might say Diner is misogynistic.I say, "Feh!"One could argue that the pacing is slow at the beginning, but personally, I won't do so.The only criticism I can muster is about the moment of most tension, the pinnacle of the film's conflict. It gets resolved in such a quick fashion it might make your head tilt.Otherwise, this is a spectacular film.As always, don't expect too much, and you'll be oh-so-sweetly rewarded.

Look, I'm a guy. I like guy sh*t. I actually happen to like guys more than just hanging out with them, but beyond liking having sex with guys, I'm pretty much a guy's guy. This movie made me HATE guys. Hate men. Hate every simpering, punchable character who was male. From someone who likes guys (both sexually and platonically), and for a movie full of (at the time) very cute, talented male actors, this movie worked very hard to make me LOATHE each and every one of them. Moreover, I really liked the females. I sympathized with them. From Steve Guttenberg's mother who didn't want to make her piece of sh*t son a sandwich, to Ellen Barkin, who was stuck with an idiot as*hole who didn't want her touching his records and actually conned his good friend to fake seduce his own wife (WTF?), to the girl that Guttenberg finally married (and why the F**K any girl would marry a bag of SH*T that makes her pass an inane test about football is beyond me). This is incredible. Barry Levinson - who was shockingly (or maybe not so shockingly) nominated for an Oscar for this drivel - should be more than ashamed, he should be flogged publicly. All he managed to do was make me want to eviscerate and choke the life out of every male character in this movie. I'm serious. If the flick ended in a bloodbath with the women killing every man painfully, I would be cheering!

Diner, Barry Levinson's writing and directing debut belongs to so-called "small" or "minor" movies and it indeed does not have spectacular locations, breathtaking action sequences or even dramatic story. As Kevin Bacon comments in the Behind the Scenes Documentary, "There's not that much of a story, really. What do we do? We drive around..." What the movie has is "a very honest portrayal of a group...of guys that people relate to on a very personal level." The different generations of viewers react to film with devotion and recognition, and Diner has become one of the beloved long time cult favorites. Based on its writer/director's memories of growing up in Baltimore, the film takes place during the week between Christmas and New Year in 1959, and tells of the friendship of five guys in their early twenties. During the course of the film, we will get to know the young men, their fears of growing up, facing responsibilities, and making decisions, their fascination and insecurities with the girls.From his Oscar-nominated script, BL makes the study of young men who hesitate to grow up but rather hang out in their beloved Diner. Daniel Stern's 'Shrevie' is an owner of LP collection that he seems to value more than his young and pretty wife (Ellen Barkin in her film debut). Mickey Rourke, played his best role (at least, IMO) as Boogy, the cynical womanizer with the most charming smile. Steve Guttenberg's Eddie puts his fiancée through the enormously difficult football quiz and the passing score is the must for the marriage because he is scared to get married. Kevin Bacon plays Fenwick, a permanently drunk and lost kid, the character much darker than the rest of the guys. Timothy Daly is Bill who seems to be the most successful of the bunch, and know what he wants but can't make the girl he loves to love him. By making Diner, Levinson actually put his native city, sleepy and provincial 1959 Baltimore, on the cinema map, and that's just one of movie's pleasures. And there are plenty. Diner is filled with authentic and believable scenes, situations, and conversations that everyone can relate to. The Diner's menu has a lot to offer to the grateful viewers and fans of the insightful, ironic, entertaining, small but bright and shiny gem. Barry Levinson does not flatter six protagonists but he understands them and loves them because he sees in them the indelible part of his own life, his experiences, and his own childhood friends. As another great film about childhood friendship says, "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?" Barry Levinson went on to create many good and very good films after Diner. These are just a few: The Natural, Good Morning, Vietnam; Bugsy; Avalon; Sleepers, An Everlasting Piece, Disclosure, Wag the Dog, and his Oscar winner "Rain Man" but Diner will always have a very special place for me. This is the film I keep coming back to again and again, and as the time passes it only gets better.