4. Reality Bites (1994); Life is always funny when it happens to someone else.

Reality Bites

Directed by Ben Stiller

Starring Ethan Hawke, Winona Ryder, and Ben Stiller

First of all, let me mention that this movie has two taglines: “Life is always funny when it happens to someone else” and “A comedy about love in the 90’s.” Thought it was interesting that they couldn’t pick one. Maybe that’s a normal thing to have two taglines…. What do I know? Though, I have to say that I probably wouldn’t describe this film as a comedy. Is that their point? That life in the 90’s was dramatic? That it was funny that life in the 90’s is actually very dramatic but that’s what people thought was funny?

Reality Bites is a drama about four college graduates and how they each are dealing with life right after school. Winona Ryder plays Lelaina, the valedictorian of her graduating class who is interested in entering the entertainment industry through means of a documentary. The documentary follows her and three friends through the first ups and downs of life in the real world. Her best friend Troy (Ethan Hawke) is a failing musician and an extreme pessimist. Vickie (Janeane Garofalo) is worried about how her over-sexual lifestyle is going to affect the results of her recent AIDS tests, while Sammy (Steve Zahn) is coming to terms with his homosexuality. Lelaina meets Michael (Ben Stiller) who is an executive in the reality television industry and tries to help her by convincing his company to adopt her documentary. But while Lelaina grows feelings for Michael, she can’t ignore the distant emotions still felt towards Troy.

This movie basically just attacks human values and the way that different people deal with stress. The possession of money is the easiest way to distinguish some of the debating values between two opposite characters, like those shown between Troy and Michael. Lelaina is forced to choose between living a life based on materialistic values or philosophical insight. With Michael, it’s all about “making money” and not truly about quality- the opposite of Troy. Very similar to the plot of The Notebook. Lon Hammond or Noah Calhoun?

I really enjoyed this quote from Troy in the film- “There’s no point to any of this. It’s all just a random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near escaped. So I take pleasure in the details. You know, a Quarter-Pounder with cheese, those are good, the sky about ten minutes before it starts to rain, the moment where your laughter becomes a cackle…. and I sit back and I smoke my pack of Camel Straights and ride my own melt.” This is the type of attitude that could make you feel like a strong and opinionated individual, but in reality, just makes you a lazy bum.

One of the main things that I liked about this film was the fact that the stories and feelings of each individual character actually seem realistic. I understand that’s the whole idea, but they really were very easy to relate to. Each character had their own sense of charm and charisma that separated them from each other but also helped expand the plot to connect with a bunch of different lifestyles that are most likely presented in the audiences that enjoyed it. While one character is dealing with their sexual lifestyle, the other is verbally tearing down the United States government or the overall American society. I just see those issues occurring in any clique.

Another thing that I really enjoyed was the style of the film. Shots from Lelaina’s documentary are shown as shots of the actual movie and I thought that was an interesting way to show that, while we aren’t seeing her film her friends all the time, she is still filming and creating her documentary.

Most of the time, I notice the wardrobe of characters in films. Color symbolism and different styles are an interesting way to decipher what’s about to happen in movies. In Reality Bites, I really only noticed one thing. Throughout the movie, Troy was dressed with more a sloppy look, plaids and jeans, t-shirts and shorts, but Michael was always in a suit or tie. This was obviously done to show the amount of money that each character owned, but also just to reiterate the fact that Michael was more materialistic and that Troy didn’t care. So, I thought it was interesting that the audience sees Lelaina send Michael away when he is dressed in casual attire, and choose Troy when he is dressed in a suit and tie.

Also, let me just add this- I love Winona Ryder. Ever since I saw Girl, Interrupted I have loved everything I’ve seen her in. Except Mermaid.

And this- Ethan Hawke seems like such a jerk, but I really liked his portrayal of Troy in this film. Thought he did a really good job. We liked him, but we hated him too. Perfect.

On the Becki Scale- I give it a 7.