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Reality Bites
Reality Bites is a 1994 American romantic comedy-drama film written by Helen Childress and directed by Ben Stiller in his feature directorial debut. It stars Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, and Stiller, with supporting roles by Janeane Garofalo and Steve Zahn. The film follows an aspiring videographer, working on a documentary about the disenchanted lives of her friends and roommates.
Childress wrote the initial screenplay on spec in 1990, inspired by the lives of her friends and herself during the U.S. economic recession in the early 1990s. Stiller was hired as director in 1991, but later starred in the film after working with Childress on the final screenplay, which was completed in December 1992. The film faced production delays until Ryder committed to the project, after which Hawke and Zahn were cast. Garofalo was fired during filming but returned after Ryder stepped in on her behalf. Principal photography lasted 42 days in 1993, with filming taking place in Houston and Los Angeles.
Reality Bites received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the performances of Ryder, Hawke and Garofalo. It grossed $41 million worldwide. It appeared on some critics' year-end lists for 1994 and 1995 and has since gained cult status for its depiction of the early careers and young adult lifestyles of Generation X.
Four friends who are recent college graduates live together in Houston, Texas. Coffeehouse guitarist Troy Dyer and budding filmmaker Lelaina Pierce are attracted to each other, although they have not acted on their feelings except for one brief, drunken encounter years ago.
Troy is floundering, having lost several minimum-wage jobs—the last of which he loses for stealing a candy bar from his employer. Lelaina was valedictorian of her university and aspires to make documentaries, although initially has to settle for a position as production assistant to a rude and obnoxious TV host.
Lelaina meets Michael Grates when throwing a lit cigarette into his convertible causes him to crash into her car. They begin dating. He works as an executive at an MTV-like channel called In Your Face, and after seeing a documentary she has been working on, wants to get it aired on his network.
Lelaina's roommate Vickie has a series of one-night stands and short relationships with dozens of men; her promiscuity leads her to face a very real risk of contracting HIV after a former fling tests positive for the virus. Working as a sales associate for the Gap, Vickie is later promoted to manager and is content with her new job. Her friend Sammy Gray is gay; he remains celibate, not due to a fear of AIDS, but because forming a relationship would force him to come out to his conservative parents.
After an impulsive act of retribution against her boss, Lelaina loses her job, which causes some tension with her roommates. Eventually, Vickie's HIV test comes back negative and Sammy comes out to his parents (and he even starts dating) and the two manage to resume their lives.
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Reality Bites
Reality Bites is a 1994 American romantic comedy-drama film written by Helen Childress and directed by Ben Stiller in his feature directorial debut. It stars Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, and Stiller, with supporting roles by Janeane Garofalo and Steve Zahn. The film follows an aspiring videographer, working on a documentary about the disenchanted lives of her friends and roommates.
Childress wrote the initial screenplay on spec in 1990, inspired by the lives of her friends and herself during the U.S. economic recession in the early 1990s. Stiller was hired as director in 1991, but later starred in the film after working with Childress on the final screenplay, which was completed in December 1992. The film faced production delays until Ryder committed to the project, after which Hawke and Zahn were cast. Garofalo was fired during filming but returned after Ryder stepped in on her behalf. Principal photography lasted 42 days in 1993, with filming taking place in Houston and Los Angeles.
Reality Bites received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the performances of Ryder, Hawke and Garofalo. It grossed $41 million worldwide. It appeared on some critics' year-end lists for 1994 and 1995 and has since gained cult status for its depiction of the early careers and young adult lifestyles of Generation X.
Four friends who are recent college graduates live together in Houston, Texas. Coffeehouse guitarist Troy Dyer and budding filmmaker Lelaina Pierce are attracted to each other, although they have not acted on their feelings except for one brief, drunken encounter years ago.
Troy is floundering, having lost several minimum-wage jobs—the last of which he loses for stealing a candy bar from his employer. Lelaina was valedictorian of her university and aspires to make documentaries, although initially has to settle for a position as production assistant to a rude and obnoxious TV host.
Lelaina meets Michael Grates when throwing a lit cigarette into his convertible causes him to crash into her car. They begin dating. He works as an executive at an MTV-like channel called In Your Face, and after seeing a documentary she has been working on, wants to get it aired on his network.
Lelaina's roommate Vickie has a series of one-night stands and short relationships with dozens of men; her promiscuity leads her to face a very real risk of contracting HIV after a former fling tests positive for the virus. Working as a sales associate for the Gap, Vickie is later promoted to manager and is content with her new job. Her friend Sammy Gray is gay; he remains celibate, not due to a fear of AIDS, but because forming a relationship would force him to come out to his conservative parents.
After an impulsive act of retribution against her boss, Lelaina loses her job, which causes some tension with her roommates. Eventually, Vickie's HIV test comes back negative and Sammy comes out to his parents (and he even starts dating) and the two manage to resume their lives.