![]() ![]() On one level this is apparent: the constant 90's culture references, quotes such as Troy's response to promptings from Lelaina while documenting him: "I am not under any orders to make the world a better place". While the characters are given sensitive treatment in the script and in performance, they are also portrayed with the hidden agenda of satirizing the generation they exemplify and the culture of that generation. The movie has an under-the-radar subtlety to it that was widely missed even by advocators of the film. "Reality Bites" is the kind of film that is prone to misperception. Amidst this, tensions between Lelaina and Troy begin to rise as his feelings for her become clearer. In a mild car accident she meets Michael (Stiller), a sweet-hearted businessman, and they begin a romantic relationship, from which sparks talk of taking her documentary to the commercial network Michael works for. Winona Ryder plays Lelaina Pierce, a fresh-faced college graduate who works a frustrated job as assistant producer for a cheesy talk show, while in her own time she enjoys filming her friends Vicky (Janeane Garofalo), Sammy (Steve Zahn) and good-looking rebel Troy (Ethan Hawke) in an amateur documentary on the disenfranchised lives of Generation X called 'Reality Bites'. For those wondering, it all started in 1994, with romantic comedy "Reality Bites". His career as a director is not nearly as extensive as that of his acting, although he has appeared in every film he's directed. Comedy star Ben Stiller is most well known for his comic portrayals of characters cursed with incredibly bad luck (see Meet the Parents, There's Something about Mary, Zoolander). It was not until my third watching, and third review, of the film that I returned to my initial opinion, this time with reasons rooted in aspects of the film it had taken me 2 years to spot. I re-reviewed it, this time with an overly negative response. The second time was after viewing the film again a year later, upon which I began to notice things that I had naively ignored, such as just what self-centred people the characters were. The first time I reviewed "Reality Bites" I was 15, and I had missed much of the film's point, praising it without critique.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |