Reality Really Does Bite

In college there were a couple of movies that got played on my roommate and I’s TV over and over and over again. And while Point Break never loses it charm, I’m afraid Reality Bites isn’t holding up very well. I’m the first to admit it was always flawed and featured way too much pontificating, but the great lines and Ethan Hawke  “All I Want is You” lovefest made it a bit of a masterpiece. Unfortunately I recently stumbled upon Reality Bites on a Saturday night, and the results weren’t pure joy.

At first I thought that it was just dated, because let’s face it, the clothes and pop culture reference were jarringly 90s. But unfortunately it’s more than that.

Winona -- First off, Winona Ryder is really irritating. I don’t think that it has always been so, but I’m not committed enough to do the deeper research required to decide. (If anyone else wants to take on a 90s Netflix night of Mermaids, Dracula and Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael, go for it.) But in Reality Bites, she’s got this quirky delivery and her line readings fall totally flat. Like maybe things are supposed to be jokes but aren’t? She’s kind of bad.

The Whining -- Beyond Winona, all these characters are really irritating. In between all the funny quotable lines is this angsty drama that’s super lame. I mean maybe it is just me, but I don’t remember looking longingly into the sky because I was so worried about AIDS throughout 1993.  And while I was saddened of Robert Reed’s death, his dying of AIDS didn’t signify the end of my innocence like it seemingly did for this melodramatic group of idiots. And it’s not just the AIDS worry. It’s the whiny what am I going to do with my life of it all that, on the other side of 30, I have zero patience for.  About five minutes in I wanted to shake all of these people and tell them to get a fucking job and quit their complaining. (The whole portrayal of post-college ambivalence was really embarrassing to me. God forbid some future generation rents this movie and thinks it represents my youth.)  The stealing of the dad’s gas card money no longer seems clever. It seems like a spoiled little brat move by someone who was too entitled to take a job at the Gap. It didn’t just annoy me, it pissed me off. And then feeling this way…well it made me feel very old and uncool. And I was watching TBS all alone on a Saturday night. I didn’t need more help in that department.

Troy -- But that isn’t even the most disappointing thing about re-watching Reality Bites.  The worst part is that I’m so far on the other side I can no longer even SEE the appeal of Ethan Hawke’s Troy. (I say Troy, because as a lover of Before Sunrise and even more, Before Sunset, I still get why we had it for Ethan in general.) But TROY – Troy is the guy you dated that was so cool back then, but now you look back and just can’t understand what you were thinking. The greasy hair, the too-cool-to-shower, condescending I’m smart because I’m literary, I don’t need a real job and in fact will continue to get fired for stealing snickers because I’m such a rebel guy. What then was intriguing and hot, now just screams LOSER at the top of its lungs. The Other Guy in this scenario of course is Ben Stiller’s Michael, who’s positioned as sell-out corporate schmuck because he has a nice car, can afford plane tickets and has a real job – but listens to crappy music. Was that what we were supposed to think? Because all I thought was, this guy’s got it together, and every diatribe against him and his actual JOB makes this Troy character even less appealing. I know – that was the point of the movie: smart choice versus dumb one but it is what’s in your heart matters etc. But I don’t buy it. I just don’t buy for one second that anyone would choose Troy, who again, wasn’t that cute because he probably SMELLED and – oh by the way – was also a total dick, over Michael. Or that I would have actually rooted for her to choose Troy. But I know I did back in the olden days of loving this movie. 

I know, I’m being pretty hard on the movie and there are still some great things about it. Steve Zahn, PFLAG, “All I Want is You,” In Your Face TV, and even David Spade, etc.…but I’ll never watch it and love it again, except with nostalgia for the younger me that wouldn’t have been mad at the slackers for calling the psychic friends network and then charging it to daddy. That kind of makes me sad.

Comments

[Amy]

I watched this movie within the past year or so and had the exact same reactions. This was not Gen X post graduation - this was entitled subset of Gen X post graduation. Seriously. And yes, I got Troy then...but I also kind of got the Ben Stiller dude too. Frankly, I thought they were both lacking. However, the Melrose place line at the diner is still a favorite. It was, and still is, a very good show.

[Julie B]

I sooooo can't believe I haven't seen a post from you on the new 90210! Would love to hear your POV on this one. Hope all is well!

[DQ]

Come now...that's like saying "Breakin 2, Electric Boogaloo" had poor dialogue and unrealistic breakdance fights. Watching it now, you say "what was I thinking back then"...because you really thought you could robot a rival gang into submission. The point is, for lack of a better expression, it was a period piece. Not so much because it represents an era, but because it represents a mode of thinking that, even as you admit, you were a part of. Some movies aren't meant to stand the test of time. But you appreciated them once, and that means that at some point, you agreed with what they stood for. Nostalgia or not, Troy WAS once cool to you. And Ben Stiller was a douche. You're growing up (ie. getting old), so logic tends to prevail, and Troy ceases to be awesome. But would you rather be cool for a moment in time, or a nerd forever?
I never liked this movie, but I will say this...if I loved a movie at a point in time, ever...it will always remain badass. Which is why "Breakin' 2, Electric Boogaloo" gets a 5 star on my Netflix even today. If you got a problem with that...I'll breakdance fight the shit out of you.