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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Reality Bites and so does this DVD
I think Ben Stiller is a very talented individual, thank God nobody held this waste of 99 minutes against him.
If you identify with self-absorbed, pampered and immature Gen-Xers, hey great, but I spend enough time in real life trying to avoid these negative slouches, I'm sorry I deliberately visited their shallow world here.
Winona Ryders offscreen shoplifting and pill-popping troubles make her undisciplined, whiny and self-pitying role here easy to swallow, but it's still something you would not want anywhere near your plate.Watching her kvetch about the world being against her and abuse her rich daddy's credit privileges would make Gahndi want to smack her. 40 hours a week of hard labor and a little sunshine would probably do wonders for her on and off-screen persona.
Fellow pillhead/whiner co-star Garafolo hits a funny one-liner or two, but the subplot of her HIV scare is weak and she rates straight zeroes and F's as a dramatic actress.Janeane is not without worth though,I think she's great for cameos like in "The Cable Guy" but as a supporting star, a lead ("Truth About Cats and Dogs") she's just not equipped with a personality or talent worth investing emotionally in.
This movie leans toward chick-flickdom with a romantic decision to be made by Ryders character. No big surprise who she chooses, by the time that's happened, little growth or resolution worthy of applause has occurred in these contemptous nitwits lives, the viewer is likely bored,unsatisfied and 99 minutes closer to death.
AVOID this LOSER like a vomiting hobo.
Rating: 
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Generation X rules!
Reality Bites is still one of the coolest movies from the '90s. This film was extremely accurate to the times and conditions of those heavy-handed days. Great performances by Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke. It is kinda weird that Ben Stiller not only stars in this but directed it as well. Stiller did a fine job directing even though his acting is another story. I like the unrequited love aspect of this film, boy loves his best friend but best friend is falling for egostical career dude. If there was one movie to watch about the impossible task of making a relationship work, I would pick Reality Bites as the one to answer all your heartsick questions. Enjoy!
Rating: -
"Reality" does not "Bite"
I LOVE this movie. Its definitely one of my favorite go-to movies, although I don't think it was/is a very popular one. Maybe I like it because I'm a girl, (my husband doesn't really like it, but loves Ben Stiller so I made him watch it) but I think both sexes would be entertained by it. A perfect, early 90's-era flick about the lives of young 20-somethings. I think it has a really good cast of characters and is very entertaining!
Rating: 
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An honest look at a drifting generation
The opening speech by Lelaina (Winona Ryder) at the beginning sets an accurate mood for the rest of the film: optimism tinged with confusion and a lack of direction. In reality, the young adults in this film depict only a small slice of their generation, those who "aren't interested in the counterculture that they [our parents] invented as if we did not see them disembowel their revolution for a pair of running shoes." I may be a few years behind the generation portrayed in the film, but I'm not entirely without empathy for the restless plight of this group of slackers. Even so, the speech is a horrible oversimplification of the generation gap of the time, and the film is more easily digested if the core group of characters is seen as only one slice of a very large generation.
There is a lot of similarity between Reality Bites and films like Garden State and Harold and Maude, sharing the same ennui and restlessness that seems insatiable and overwhelming. The striking difference, though, is Reality Bites' strong sense of friendship and community as a means of overcoming this ennui. I felt that if any of these characters were left entirely to himself, he would commit suicide, and the core group of friends is what saved them all.
Unfortunately, their friendships are not enough to keep them from slipping into a dangerous selfishness and narcissism: Lelaina refuses for a while to find a paying job, and only seems to be attracted to Troy (Ethan Hawke) because of the emotions he conjures up in her; Troy, even after saying that she is the only woman he could commit to, says, "You can't navigate me, I might do mean things, and I might hurt you and I might run away without your permission"; Vickie (Janeane Garofalo) is addicted to sex but hates the thought of a lasting relationship; and Sammy (Steve Zahn) is full of wounded pride. Michael (Ben Stiller) is intellectually shallow, but he seems to be the only person with any emotional maturity, and he easily sees through Troy's snobby attitude.
ENDING SPOILERS: The film ends with a romance between Lelaina and Troy that seems destined to end badly if Troy doesn't wise up and accept the criticism that's been levelled at him. There's a part of me that cheered for him, but a larger part that wanted to smack him in the face until he wised up and applied for grad school. The problem with these kids is that they are immature, and have no ideal of maturity to attain to. Their parents (of the rebellious 60s generation) rejected their own parents' ideas of maturity, and so their own children have very little left to work with. Reality Bites is more of a romantic tragedy than a romantic comedy, even though it seems to turn out well in the end. I really wanted the characters to find something better to build their lives on, but when the credits rolled I was afraid they would just keep repeating their mistakes for the rest of their lives.
For what it's worth, the acting and directing are quite good, though not great. I got a kick out of seeing so many big-name actors at a younger age. Ben Stiller's direction is good, and not as manic as what he later did in Zoolander. Unfortunately there aren't any special features except production notes and a forgettable trailer.
Rating: -
Ah, youth!
As I would imagine is the case for many post-boomers like myself, this film brings back memories, including those wistful thoughts that there's nothing wrong with my generation that a savage beating wouldn't cure.
