Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Tweekums When Lelaina Pierce and her friends graduate they have expectations about how their lives will progress; inevitably they don't go according to plan. Lelaina is working for an obnoxious morning TV presenter… at least she is until she makes him look a fool and gets fired. She is living with her friend Vickie and they are joined by their friend Troy after he is sacked from his job at a magazine stall. Troy clearly has feeling for her but can't express them; instead he acts like a jerk. Lelaina is making a documentary about her friends and new boyfriend Mike, who works for an MTVesque TV station, offers to get it aired… unfortunately the way they edit it isn't anything like she intended.I recall enjoying this when I first watched it but watching again I found it somewhat less enjoyable; the characters aren't particularly sympathetic. This is particularly true of Troy. I think we were meant to want him to end up with Lelaina but I couldn't help thinking that just about anybody, or nobody, would have been better than this obnoxious bully… even Mike and he was played by Ben Stiller who we were meant to dislike! I think the cast did a good job; even if I didn't like the characters I did believe in them. Winona Ryder impressed as Lelaina and even though I didn't like Troy, Ethan Hawke did a solid in the role. Overall this isn't a bad film but it was a bit disappointing as it wasn't as good as I remembered.One last thought; isn't it depressing that when this generation were at school they were 'The Breakfast Club' but once they graduate they become this bunch?!

zoroastre -- SPOILER -- When Lelaine comes back angry and disappointed from the "premier" of her show and Troy declares his love and they have sex, I had an uneasy feeling, the scene is presented as romantic with romantic lighting, romantic guitar, etc. (and I bet many people probably taught "how sweet"), but basically this is a scene where a person in a momentary state of weakness is emotionally pushed to do something.Now I don't say this scene depicts a full fledge SA, neither that the Troy character is "bad" (you don't have to have "bad" intentions to do regrettable things), nor that this kind of situation is not realistic (cause it is)... what bothered me the most I think was the choice of music, it should probably have been more dissonant, not some mellow mushy guitar.am I the only one ill-at-ease with this scene? Sorry for any misspell, English is my second language.

Marianne Rosa-Diab this movie made me want to have grown up in the 90s! actually, i was 2yrs old when it came out so i didn't watch it until a few days ago. so obviously i don't know it its depiction of that generation is too accurate. But the thing is that even if on the surface it seems different today, the core of their angst remains the same. as a university student and an "adult" i'm supposed to have everything figured out and be in complete touch with who i really am inside. but the truth is that i'm so far from it, it's a miracle i can make any decisions about my future. i know what i want but i don't exactly who i am. weird, right?! so i really don't think its outdated or too old to relate to. also, i read some of the other reviews that criticized the characters; like how much Ryder's character nags, or how cynical or simply lazy hawk's character is, or how slutty and stereotypical Vicky is. i simply disagree; everyone is annoying and has depression periods in their lives when cant find a job after college, when they had all these hopes and dreams when graduating. troy is not lazy and is not too philosophical, he is simply a smart individual who refuses to get submerged by all those corporate society elements around him. and Vicky is just a normal young woman that works hard (becoming manager of the gap) and plays hard (sexual life and AIDS scare).so instead of looking at it in a really superficial manner, the deeper point of view is fascinating. and the implied meanings (fear, dreams, love, existence,...) with many more reasons, are what makes this one of my favorite movies.

thesar-2 See, I'm a product of the 1990s. Most of my friends/peers that are of my age believe their "decade" of choice is the 1980s. But, my heart belongs in the 1990s.I loved the music better. I came out. I learned about life in and around college. I traveled a lot and expanded my horizons tremendously. This didn't come without a price – one I would surely pay in the double naughts. (I'm sure those who "had fun" in the 1960s felt the same in the following disco decade.)That all said, it was thoroughly refreshing to revisit Reality Bites, the quintessential 1990s movie. Okay, I would include Clueless into that genre, but that's another viewing/review. It had the independence feel, the snappy and intelligent dialogue, the product placement (oh, that was abundant and to think we thought the 1980s people were materialistic…) and the grunge look. Heck, we see the (NBC's) Friends characters who can live comfortably in the big city, in a nice apartment, without so much a job nor two nickels to rub together. I would LOVE to live and breathe so comfortably without employment as these young adults lived in decades past.But, I digress. This movie was wonderful. It had an excellent soundtrack and fantastic acting. Though Hawke and Ryder were both perfect, I always love seeing Garofalo and truly loved seeing all the "future" (to 1994's Reality Bites) secondary actors get some screen-time. Such as Spade, Stiller, Zahn, Zellweger and (Andy) Dick.Basically the movie revolves around slackers Lelaina (Ryder) and Troy (Hawke) who inadvertently become roommates, along with best bud, Gap-Manager Vickie (Garofalo.) It's obvious that Lelaina and Troy need to be together, but after a chance meeting between Lelaina and Michael (Stiller) the tension rises.Throw in a few subplots, involving the topic of the moment: AIDS and gays coming out, you have a very well-thought out, WAY before its time film. Forgive me – no, take that back, I make no apologies for my reviews or opinions – but I would compare this "independent/reality show" movie to Citizen Kane. Both movies had great ideas, presented them, and though neither took off at the time, both were looked back upon as "experiments" that would show up dozens of times in the far future. Survivor, anyone? How about The Blair Witch Project's hand-held cameras held by amateur filmmakers?I first saw Reality Bites immediately when it arrived in theatres in 1994 and liked it a lot. I made a decision to see it again, since I liked it then and it defined my 20's (actually, I just turned 20 at that point) but I never got around to it…until now, 16 years later after someone recommended it after viewing my site. I am SO glad he did. I might never have seen this fantastic movie again.I remembered a lot of the wonderful dialogue – and I could even still quote it: "Would the two of you just do it and get it over with? I'm starving!" and "If I could bottle the sexual tension between Bonnie Franklin and Schneider, I could solve the energy crisis," and loved the many, many references, including Melrose Place. Furthermore, I did purchase the soundtrack and fell madly in love with all the tracks, but mainly: "My Sharona" and "Stay (I Missed You.)"For anyone who hasn't previously seen this movie, again, like Clueless, it might be hard to watch now as it might appear "dated." But truly, the dialogue, love story – boy it still makes me choke up in the closing, and references are still fresh today. And that makes this a must see for 1990s lovers and anyone who's young, finding themselves and need to believe in dreams.Side Note: The "edited" version of Lelaina's video was really…not that bad. I believe she completely overreacted, but that's not what the character Ryder played wanted. So, to move the story along, I guess we just have to accept it was a bad product, when in "reality," she needs to lighten up. On a positive note, it did lead her to make the true (and painfully obvious) romantic choice.