Reality Bites *SPOILERS*
Jacob A. Gabrielson
Here is a summary of the movie _Reality Bites_, which I just saw (on
what is opening night, at least here Seattle). I'm posting it so that
you can enjoy the movie without having to spend US$6.50 (or more!) on
it:
MASSIVE SPOILERS FOLLOW:
I'm not kidding!!! Don't say I didn't warn you!
It starred Ethan Hawke as "Troy" and Winona Ryder as, geez, I
forget the name already. The movie starts out with video footage of
Winona at the podium at her college graduation, making a speech about
how this generation is trying to deal with the fact that its parents,
the hippy generation, all sold out to become yuppies and let the world
continue to rot (she was the Valedictorian at her school, we find out
later.) The video footage was shot by herself, because she's an
aspiring film/video-maker.
Next it's more of her video footage of her and her friends on
the top of a tall building, having a graduation party (we later find
out incidentally that the story takes place in Houston, though oddly
there are no characters with Southern accents except for Winona's
parents.) Her and her friends are all having a good time. Winona's
friend, Samantha (I think that was her name, anyway) and her
in-the-closet-probably-gay friend, and Troy: her male-"just a"-friend,
(with whom the inevitable sexual tension develops) are all there with
her, drinking beer and talking in ironic tones of grandiose things,
like us college students are wont to do. Troy, it turns out, is a
philosophy major from-the-working-class,
wanna-be-Marlon-Brando-philosopher-god-king type who of course didn't
quite finish his degree. Oh yeah, he's the lead singer of a band, as
well.
So they rattle on for a while on the rooftop. Winona says she
kind of wants to make a difference in the world. Next we cut to
scenes of 2 of those friends doing their normal thing. First Troy is
shown leaving a house, in the morning, of a young woman, with whom we
suppose he's just had a one night stand. She gives him a note as he's
leaving which reads "Call Me -- Tami (555-1234)", but he throws it on
the ground as soon as the door closes.
Then we see Winona's friend Samantha waking up in the morning.
She pulls a diary out of her dresser and we see that the page is full
of dates (on the left), and men's names on the right. She looks
thoughtful, then writes, in the right-hand column, "Rick?". So she's
kind of a love 'em and leave 'em type, too, just like Troy.
Then next is the scene of Troy and Winona having an expensive
meal with Winona's dad, step-dad, mom, and step-mom. His dad and mom
kind of start to argue, because dad has just given Winona the keys to
his old BMW (because his wife just bought a new INFINITY.) Her Dad is
obviously fairly wealthy (it turns out he owns a factory that makes
TVs or something.) Troy manages to make a comment about the fact that
*his* Dad is dying of prostate cancer.
Later Winona and Samantha are going driving in the BMW,
listening to some 70s (or maybe 80s) pop music. Along comes driving a
super-yuppie in his convertible Saab, talking on his cellular phone,
trying to read a map, and listening to loud rap music, all at the same
time. He happens to be pulled up at the same stop light. So Winona &
co., feeling capricious, decide to toss a still-burning cigarette butt
into his car. The butt causes a little flare up, and he starts to
swerve, and crashes into their BMW. Whoa! So next thing we know,
Winona's in his office (at LIVE TV, a new competitor to MTV (this is
explicitly mentioned in the film.)) He's saying that his lawyer
suggested that he sue her, for insurance reasons. But Winona just
looks at him with those enormous brown eyes of hers, and he melts like
butter, and says "Oh, forget it, it was sort of my fault anyway."
Then Winona accidentally drops this figurine from The Planet of the
Apes, and he *still* isn't mad. In fact, as they both kneel down to
pick up the pieces, their eyes meet...
Cut to Winona and Samantha at the apartment they share, where
W. explains that she and Michael (the yuppie exec from LIVE TV) have
set up a date. Wait, you're wondering, what about Troy? Well, he's
just a friend, so there's no possibility of romance.
Speaking of Troy, it turns out Troy has just lost his job at a
Newsstand (we later find out it was his 12th job lost) for stealing a
SNICKERS bar. He's moving in to Samantha and Winona's pad for a
while. Winona's mad at first that Samantha told him he could stay,
but eventually is guilt-tripped into saying okay. She really does
care about Troy.
Samantha works at THE GAP, by the way, and she eventually
rises to manager. Anyway, Troy gets all huffy when he finds out
Winona is going to go out with a yuppie type, and he starts to make
all sorts of pseudo-philosophical comments, which piss Winona off.
Troy is overtly unfriendly when Michael (the yuppie) comes by to pick
her up. There's actually a bunch of Winona's friends around, playing
a game, when Michael comes by, and they all kind of ignore him, since
he's obviously not their type.
Winona and Michael go to a fancy restaurant, where Michael
doesn't finish his food, because he "had a late lunch." Here's some
dialog:
[ lots of small-talk ]
MICHAEL: You know, you are really incredibly beautiful.
W: Oh er uhm [ and so forth, puts her hands on her face and stuff ].
I'm not really good at handling compliments.
MICHAEL: But it's true [ and so forth ]
W: [ impulsively ] Are you religious?
MICHAEL: Well, I'm basically a non-practicing Jew.
W: [ impulsively, again ] I'm a non-practicing virgin.
Later, Winona and Michael are in his convertible Saab,
drinking BIG GULPS (from 7-eleven.) They're small-talking again.
Winona is explaining how the 44-oz. (not the 33-oz.) BIG GULPS are
like the perfect food (harkening back to High School now, you see.)
Just drink one BIG GULPS in the morning and get all your necessary
vitamins and nutrients for the day, she says. Then they start talking
about Astronomy and stuff. Michael didn't finish college. He took an
astronomy class, because he liked the stars (looking at them, like on
the roof and stuff), but couldn't handle the math (all that stuff
about pi and the square root of three.) Winona agrees. Then they
talk about what a happy moment they're having, how like everything's
perfect. Then they start to kiss. The BIG GULPS kind of get in the
way at first, but it's not a problem. Just then Troy walks by (with
his guitar), and sees them, and looks wistful.
When Winona comes home late that night, Troy is sitting up
reading, looking pensive. He starts criticizing her in a lewd
fashion, and she says "Why are you acting like a jealous boyfriend all
of a sudden?" He walks up to her, cups her faces under the chin
(which exaggerates her already large brown, on-the-verge-of-being
tear-filled eyes) and says "Because I love you so much" (or something
to that effect. She's stunned for a moment, but he quickly follows
up: "That's what you really want to hear, isn't it?!" She tells him
he can go to Hell, and stalks off to her room.
Oh yeah, Winona works in an intern-like position on a local TV
"Good Morning, Grant" show that stars this fascistic middle-aged
morning-show-host type, who treats her like dirt. He doesn't like any
of her video-documentaries (which are all of her friends), despite the
fact that the show's producer says she has real talent. Winona shows
him a video tape of her friend Samantha's visit to get an AIDS test at
a clinic (Samantha mentions that this is one of the grim realities of
being of our generation), and "Grant" really thinks it's crap. In
fact, later on, Winona finds out she's going to get fired.
Fortunately, she has the means to get some revenge on Grant before she
gets fired, by slipping him cue-cards containing lines (she has to
write the questions that he asks his guests every day) that make him
sound like a pervert, on live television.
So Winona comes home, having lost her job. She alienates
Samantha, because Samantha offers her a lowly job at THE GAP, but
Winona doesn't want it -- she can't come "down to Samantha's level."
Samantha gets pissed, and goes into her room, slamming the door.
Samantha is definitely from a lower-class background than Winona; her
parents were hippies, while Winona's dad owns a factory. Speaking of
parents, both Troy and Winona's parents were divorced. Samantha was
pissed by Winona's snooty-ness, but Troy wasn't. Troy and Winona go
on a walk where they drink coffee and smoke cigarettes and look at the
various places Troy was fired from. Troy hints that he loves Winona,
and makes an unsuccessful pass at her. She says she doesn't want to
ruin their friendship, and confesses that Michael has something to do
with her reluctance, too.
Winona goes on a long and fruitless job hunt. She eventually
becomes despondent, and spends an entire month sitting in the
living-room, in her pajamas, watching TV and calling up those 1-900
psychics. Eventually, her roommates come in telling her that she's
run up a 400-dollar phone bill, and they can't help her out because
they're broke, too. Winona acts defensive and hostile about it, but
she has to do something about it. So she goes and talks to her Mom
(who's a clinging, weak-willed person, who almost killed herself after
her divorce and is now highly emotionally dependent on her new
husband.) Mom tells Winona that they won't help her, and that they
recommend going to WIENERSCHNITZEL to get a job. Winona's so
desperate that she actually interviews, but she doesn't even get THAT
job. Now she's so desperate that she goes to her rich Dad, who also
is unwilling to help her. He explains that it's time she became
creative, and figured out how to get by on her own. So she gets
creative, and rakes in 400 bucks by using this gas card that he gave
her (at the same dinner where he gave her the BMW, incidentally.)
What she does is offer people who are about to buy gas half-off if
they give her cash (and then she pays for the gas with her card.) She
also buys a lot of food at gas stations.
Eventually Michael calls, saying he's shown Winona's videos to
the execs at LIVE TV, and they really like her stuff, they just went
nuts over it. So he comes over to bring her to a screening, where her
stuff (after some editing had been done to it, which Michael hadn't
actually seen or been a part of) will be shown to some other LIVE TV
employees. When Michael comes over to the apartment, Troy is there.
Troy was a philosophy major, so is very cultured, despite his
rough-and-tumble appearance. Michael, it turns out, is very
culturally illiterate, and so Troy runs circles around him the macho
battle-of-words that they quickly become embroiled in. But then
Michael plays his trump suit: he alludes to the fact that he's had sex
with Winona, whereas Michael hasn't (and for all we know, maybe never
will!)
Anyway, back to the screening: as her work is being shown, it
becomes obvious that it has been totally butchered by the sound-bite
and product-placement-oriented LIVE TV editors. They've edited
everything into short clips, and added lots of fancy video effects,
and also added extra clips in, like one of rhinoceroses _in
flagrante_. When she sees an embedded ad for PIZZA HUT, she just
can't take it any more. She runs out, with Michael following after,
explaining that he didn't know, and that the LIVE TV people were just
trying to make her stuff more palatable to stupid teenagers. Winona
is still mad though, and goes home.
Troy is there waiting, again. He's not too mad, and it's
obvious that things did not go well for Winona. She says she just
doesn't know "who she is" anymore. Troy explains that *he* knows who
she is. She's the only woman he's loved, and she's "broken his heart
so many times." They kiss, and then make love (no, we don't see
Winona's breasts.) But in the morning, instead of a being warm and
sensitive, Troy gets up really early, and leaves nervously without
much more than a kiss. He claims that he needs to go to band
practice. Winona is very hurt. Is she just another one-night-stand?
Later that evening, Winona goes to see Troy and his band
perform at a night-club. During a break, he signals that he's going
to come talk to her, but just then he gets a phone call he must deal
with. During that time, Michael arrives with some plane tickets to
New York. He explains that he wants the two of them to go to the LIVE
TV execs and re-present her work, this time making it clear that the
work is not to be edited at all. Just then, Troy returns from his
phone call. He hints very strongly to Michael that he's slept with
Winona. Then Winona and Troy go off to talk together, where he
explains that he just felt nervous that morning, but he really does
love her. Winona remains very emotional and eventually runs out of
the nightclub, with both Troy and Michael in pursuit. But she drives
away before they can try to talk to her any further. Michael and Troy
have another battle of words, which Michael loses again, except that
Troy makes the mistake of ending his argument with the statement
"Every man dies alone." So Michael retorts "What are you doing out
here [chasing after Winona] then?" Anyway, since she's gone, Michael
throws his CONTINENTAL AIRLINES tickets down onto the rain-soaked
street.
Next we see Troy in the airport, at a CONTINENTAL AIRLINES
gate, about to board a plane to Chicago. He looks unhappy. Later, we
see Troy in the hall of a hospital (presumably in Chicago). He walks
up to a pay-phone and dials up Winona, but hangs up before speaking.
Winona doesn't know where Troy went, or why. She eventually
goes and asks her closet-gay-friend (actually he revealed all to his
parents in one scene, but I don't remember where it fits in,
chronologically. Also, Samantha was really really worried, at one
point, about what the results of her AIDS test would be (she had a
friend who came down with the disease), since she's had a very active
sex-life. Winona tries to comfort her, saying that Samantha shouldn't
feel alone. Later Samantha gets the results back, and she doesn't
have AIDS after all. Phew!) where Troy went off to. He says that
Troy went to Chicago, but doesn't know why. Winona rushes madly home,
and starts to pack. But she's too slow, and the cab she called gets
frustrated and pulls away right before she gets out her door.
Fortunately, Troy happens to come back right at that moment. He's
wearing a frumpy brown suit, and looks somehow repentant. He explains
that his father just died (that was why he went back to Chicago), and
that he carries a "planet of regret" on his shoulders because of that
fateful morning where he rushed out on her. He asserts, again, that
he really loves Winona. He says "So, where were you going?" "To find
you," she replies. She runs into his arms.
In the final scene, Troy is playing guitar in the living-room
of Winona's apartment. Winona comes over to him and they embrace.
Just then the phone rings, which they ignore. Eventually the
answering machine picks up the phone, and we hear Winona's father
saying "Honey, can you please call me back? I just got a 900-dollar
bill on your gas card." (Remember how she made that money after
losing her job?)
During the credits, they show some annoying info-mercials,
like the one of Tony Robbins, inventor of the Personal Power regimen,
etc.
That's all! Pure entertainment, all the way through.
-- Jacob (gab...@mead.u.washington.edu)
Daniel G. Pruitt
>Here is a summary of the movie _Reality Bites_, which I just saw (on
>what is opening night, at least here Seattle). I'm posting it so that
>you can enjoy the movie without having to spend US$6.50 (or more!) on
>it:
>MASSIVE SPOILERS FOLLOW:
> Later Winona and Samantha are going driving in the BMW,
>listening to some 70s (or maybe 80s) pop music.
"Tempted", by Squeeze. Great song.
> Later that evening, Winona goes to see Troy and his band
>perform at a night-club. During a break, he signals that he's going
>to come talk to her, but just then he gets a phone call he must deal
>with. During that time, Michael arrives with some plane tickets to
>New York. He explains that he wants the two of them to go to the LIVE
>TV execs and re-present her work, this time making it clear that the
>work is not to be edited at all. Just then, Troy returns from his
>phone call. He hints very strongly to Michael that he's slept with
>Winona. Then Winona and Troy go off to talk together, where he
>explains that he just felt nervous that morning, but he really does
>love her. Winona remains very emotional and eventually runs out of
>the nightclub, with both Troy and Michael in pursuit.
Here, Troy actually drives her out of the club by dedicating the next song
to her, and then singing a scortching version of The Violent Femmes
classic, "Add It Up". One thing, though... They didn't follow through
with the infamous lyrics "Why can't I get, just one fuck?". I was
somewhat disappointed in the film's lack of bravado in this case. :)
The sentiment would have been more strongly conveyed.
> Next we see Troy in the airport, at a CONTINENTAL AIRLINES
>gate, about to board a plane to Chicago.
CONTINENTAL has a major hub at Houston's Intercontinental Airport; I guess
that's why they have the CONTINENTAL Airline references.
> During the credits, they show some annoying info-mercials,
>like the one of Tony Robbins, inventor of the Personal Power regimen,
>etc.
I thought the pre-credit stuff was good. The faux-MTV stuff with Duff and
Evan Dando was priceless. There are also other "cameos" in the film. If
you look carefully you can spot a few of the cast from MTV's "The Real World".
This film is a fun diversion, nothing more. I particularly enjoyed the
high volume of pop culture references. Ben Stiller did a decent job directing
and acting. I felt the scene in the diner with Winona and Jenine (sp.) where
they discuss Jenine's fear's of AIDS was particularly well done. It was a
delicate scene, and one that resulted in a somewhat complex emotional response.
The use of humor is not only appropriate but it helps relieve the tension.
--
Daniel Pruitt | "Sometimes I think that love is just a tumor,
pru...@zeppelin.convex.com | You've got to cut it out." --Elvis Costello
Julie James
1. this guy provides an amazing summary--must either have a great memory or
he brought a camcorder with him-
2. Lainey's (Winona's) friend's name is Vicki, not Samantha
3. Don't miss the bit at the end with Evan Dando and Duff-
It was not only faux-MTV, it had Michael's name on the credit, so
apparently it was his attempt at recreating Lainey's film.
Amy Brown
|> 2. Lainey's (Winona's) friend's name is Vicki, not Samantha
Lelaina (really cool name, IMHO) ..........Vickie
|> 3. Don't miss the bit at the end with Evan Dando and Duff-
|> It was not only faux-MTV, it had Michael's name on the credit, so
|> apparently it was his attempt at recreating Lainey's film.
Right over my head. I'm a child of Much Music, thank god.
obReview: it was okay, but not what everyone made it out to be. It
was a cool love story, with pretty participants and enough romantic
tension if you're a sucker like me. Don't pay full price--good for
a rental, actually, but cheap tuesdays if you really want to.
--
Amy Brown, 2A CS @ University of Waterloo | @ BNR: (613) 763-7573
arb...@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca |-------------------------------
Phone: (613) 823-6981 @ home | *disclaimer*
"I don't have anything, since I don't have you." --???
Dean R Money
>Here, Troy actually drives her out of the club by dedicating the next song
>to her, and then singing a scortching version of The Violent Femmes
>classic, "Add It Up". One thing, though... They didn't follow through
Very predictable... You knew he was going to sing something to hurt her.
Wonder if the writer's have seen "Purple Rain"?
>This film is a fun diversion, nothing more. I particularly enjoyed the
>high volume of pop culture references. Ben Stiller did a decent job directing
I was particularly annoyed with the high volume of pop culture references.
I thought the film relied on that gimmick a little too much. "Good Times",
"Charlie's Angels", "One Day at a Time", Shaun Cassidy, etc. It just
seemed to go on and on...
>and acting. I felt the scene in the diner with Winona and Jenine (sp.) where
>they discuss Jenine's fear's of AIDS was particularly well done. It was a
>delicate scene, and one that resulted in a somewhat complex emotional response.
I didn't care much for any of the characters, and, by this point, couldn't
care less about Jenine's fear of AIDS. It's hard to really feel for a
woman who chooses to sleep with 66 guys she apparently doesn't even know.
I'm sorry, but I didn't care for this movie. The characters were under-
developed, so I didn't care who Winona chose... None of the core char-
acters, other than Stiller's character, had any kind of real future...
This movie was just... blah...
Dean.
Daniel G. Pruitt
Julie James <ja...@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu> wrote:
>[humongous file deleted]
>3. Don't miss the bit at the end with Evan Dando and Duff-
> It was not only faux-MTV, it had Michael's name on the credit, so
> apparently it was his attempt at recreating Lainey's film.
Half the theater was standing during this part. Everyone's so quick to get
out.
I didn't realize that Michael was behind it. I totally missed it. It kinda
makes the Michael guy a bit more sleezy, huh?
Daniel G. Pruitt
>|> 3. Don't miss the bit at the end with Evan Dando and Duff-
>|> It was not only faux-MTV, it had Michael's name on the credit, so
>|> apparently it was his attempt at recreating Lainey's film.
>Right over my head. I'm a child of Much Music, thank god.
Duff is an MTV VJ. Evan Dando is in the bubblegum-alternative band,
THE LEMONHEADS.
Ed McCreary
...Spoilers deleted...
cut to...
JAG> the top of a tall building, having a graduation party (we later find
JAG> out incidentally that the story takes place in Houston, though oddly
JAG> there are no characters with Southern accents except for Winona's
JAG> parents.) Her and her friends are all having a good time. Winona's
Not that unsual really. Most people I know (including natives) don't
have a noticable accent, particularily people who are 20-something myself
included. I'm a fourth generation Texan and spent much of my younger days
on ranches and farms, yet I don't have a strong accent at all.
However, when I get *very* tired or extremely drunk, I do start to drawl. :)
I think television and mass communication has a great deal to do with it,
too much Gilligan as a child I suppose.
JAG> That's all! Pure entertainment, all the way through.
Agreed, it's a great movie.
--
Eddie McCreary e...@twisto.compaq.com
Graphics Development "Do or do not, there is no 'try'."
In the event of my capture, Compaq will disavow any and all knowledge
of my operations. Of course I don't speak for them.