Reality Bites (1994)

	Directed by: Ben Stiller	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama/Romance NORWEGIAN TITLE Reality Bites RUNNING TIME 99 minutes
	Produced by: Danny DeVito Michael Shamberg
	Written by: Helen Childress

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Lelaina Pierce	Winona Ryder
Troy Dyer	Ethan Hawke
Michael Grates	Ben Stiller	½
Vickie Miner	Janeane Garofalo
Sammy Gray	Steve Zahn	½
Charlane McGregor	Swoosie Kurtz	-
Wes McGregor	Harry O’Reilly	-
Grant's producer	Barry Del Sherman	-
Louise	Anne Meara	-
Roger	Keith David	-
Tom Pierce	Joe Don Baker	-
Grant Gubler	John Mahoney	½
Tami	Renee Zellweger	-

Review

A dissection of Generation X and life as a young adult in the early to mid-90s – a world of camcorders, cigarettes, apartment sharing, and casual sex. With its trivially philosophical meanderings and music-video-style, Reality Bites arguably captured the 1990s zeitgeist better than most comparable films. And the film has retained its documentarian value, despite a rather sleight narrative basis. Because, at its core, this is just another story of guy-gets-girl, where the only looming question is whether it's the right guy in the end. A love triangle revolving around a Winona Ryder at the height of her popularity, an aptly bohemian Ethan Hawke, and a somewhat high-strung Ben Stiller, who also directed with a surprising amount of panache. Also with effective supporting work from Janeane Garofalo and a wealth of great tunes from the era in question. Good fun for people who remember the 90s.