Women beware! If your (sometimes immature) man has any ambivalence towards the sanctimony of matrimony, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, allow him to see this sometimes depressing, often hilarious, but definitively brilliant film, until you hear the words "I Do".
Thus said, "Diner", Barry Levinson's directorial debut about a group of young male friends on the cusp of transition, garnered no less than a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture (for a comedy/musical) and an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay in 1983. Eighteen years after its release in 1982, the film still stands tall as an icon for male buddy-movies, and boasts the acting debut of Paul Reiser and Ellen Barkin (technically, Ms. Barkin had an un-credited role as a guitar player in Cheech and Chong's 1978 film, "Up in Smoke"), as well as the inclusion of then-fledging actors Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern and Kevin Bacon. Mickey Rourke had already begun to distinguish himself.
The time is 1959, Christmas night, in Baltimore, Maryland (also the birthplace of Mr. Levinson). As a large holiday party begins to wrap, the audience is introduced to the major players, a group of life-long friends who are having a difficult time entering adulthood gracefully.
Eddie (Mr. Guttenberg) is panicked about his ensuing wedding day, which, he fears, will change his dynamics with the boys. Shrevie (Mr. Stern), the only married man in the group (to his high school sweetheart, Beth, played by Ms. Barkin), wonders if he made the right decision in the first place. Fenwick (Mr. Bacon) is an intellectual dynamo from a powerful family, but hides behind a façade of reckless endangerment and an air of uncaring stupidity. Modell (Mr. Reiser) is the guy who is incapable of asking a favor directly, but beats around the bush sheepishly until his friends can read his mind. Boogie (Mr. Rourke) is "The Fonze" of the group, cool and clear-headed, but has gotten into a heap of trouble with a gambling debt he can't repay. Billy (Timothy Daly), who enters later, has come home for his best friend's wedding, but soon the only level-headed grownup of the bunch discovers that his girlfriend has become pregnant from their one-time sexual encounter.
Holding tight to the camaraderie that they have enjoyed since childhood, the boys partake of their ritualistic schmooz-fests at their favorite diner. They somehow know they are entering a new phase in their lives, but aren't quite sure how to let go of their youthful pranks and bonding ceremonies.
In letting loose in one instance, and trying not to let go in other, "Diner" boasts two utterly classic movie moments. In the first, Boogie bets his friends that he can get a certain girl to touch his private parts on their first date, in public, and with witnesses. Using a box of popcorn as a prop, and some fast-talking, fancy footwork from Boogie, Mr. Levinson creates a masterful movie moment. In the second, Eddie administers an arduous football exam to his fiancé: if she fails, the wedding is off.
There are many more "smaller" notable moments that punctuate the film. Along the way the boys begin to actually speak to one another, and shooting the proverbial breeze becomes conversations laden with meaning and understanding and talks about their futures.
As Mr. Levinson has done in some of his later films, such as "Avalon" and "Liberty Heights", he takes real people in transitional situations, and allows us to watch them grow. He sows his seeds and waters well. And throughout all the good times (the sunshine, the rain showers) and the bad times (the droughts and the mudslides), life perseveres.
It is difficult to summarize the unstructured plot of "Diner", and in actuality it is not necessary. The film's swift and witty dialogue tells the story; any more verbosity from the critic can only detract from it's final meaning: hey, growing up ain't so bad.
Written and directed by Barry Levinson ("The Natural", "Good Morning,Vietnam", "Rain Man", "Avalon", "Bugsy", "Toys", "Sleepers", "Wag the Dog", "Sphere", "Liberty Heights").
Starring Steve Guttenberg (Edward "Eddie" Simmons), Daniel Stern (Laurence "Shrevie" Shreiber), Mickey Rourke (Robert "Boogie" Sheftell), Kevin Bacon (Timothy Fenwick, Jr.), Paul Reiser (Modell), Ellen Barkin (Beth) and Timothy Daly (William "Billy" Howard).
Barry Levinson's TIN MEN AVALON directorial debut chronicles the relationships between a group of friends living in Baltimore in 1959. The uniting fac...More at Family Video
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