Reality Bites

Infobox Film
name = Reality Bites


image_size =
caption = Theatrical poster
director = Ben Stiller
producer = Danny DeVito
Michael Shamberg
writer = Helen Childress
narrator =
starring = Winona Ryder
Ben Stiller
Ethan Hawke
Janeane Garofalo
Steve Zahn
music = Karl Wallinger
cinematography = Emmanuel Lubezki
editing = Lisa Zeno Churgin
John Spence
distributor = Universal Pictures
released = February 18, 1994
runtime = 99 minutes
country = USA
language = English
budget = $11,000,000 (USA)
gross = $20,982,557 (USA)
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website = http://www.realitybitesdvd.com/
amg_id = 1:131129
imdb_id = 0110950

"Reality Bites" is a 1994 film written by Helen Childress and featuring the directorial debut of Ben Stiller. It stars Stiller, Winona Ryder, and Ethan Hawke, with major supporting roles played by Janeane Garofalo and Steve Zahn. The film was shot on location in Austin and Houston, Texas (where Childress' high school is located), in 42 days. The plot is centered on Lelaina (Ryder), an aspiring videographer working on a documentary called "Reality Bites" about the disenfranchised lives of her friends and roommates (Hawke, Garofalo, and Zahn), and to a certain degree, about Lelaina herself. Their challenges, both documented and not, exemplify some of the career and lifestyle choices faced by Generation X.

Plot

Long-time friend, temporary roommate and coffee-house guitarist Troy (Hawke) and his love interest, Lelaina (Ryder) are attracted to each other, though it's an attraction that neither of them has really acted upon it, one alcohol-influenced event in the past notwithstanding. He's a slacker and nihilist grunge rock musician by night, while losing job after job in a series of minimum wage dead end endeavors during the day - the last of which he loses early in the film because of stealing a candy bar from his employer.

Lelaina meets Michael (Ben Stiller) in what filmmakers call a meet cute scene: in an act of derision, she throws a cigarette into his convertible, causing him to crash into her car. The two soon begin to date. He works at an MTV-like cable channel as an executive, and after learning about her documentary, he wants to get it aired on his network.

Lelaina's roommate Vickie (Janeane Garofalo) has a series of one-night stands and short relationships with dozens of guys, motivated by a fear of being alone compounded by a fear of rejection; her promiscuity leads her to confront a very-real risk of contracting AIDS. Vickie works as a sales associate for The Gap. She is later promoted to assistant manager.

Friend Sammy (Steve Zahn) is gay; he remains celibate, not because of a fear of AIDS, but because forming a relationship would force him to come out to his parents.

When Troy's father dies, he forces himself to reevaluate his priorities, deciding to attempt a relationship with Lelaina. Meanwhile, Lelaina's relationship with Michael dissolves after he helps her sell the documentary to his network, only to let edit it in a way that compromises her artistic vision.

Eventually, Vickie's AIDS test comes back negative and Sammy comes out to his parents and the two manage to resume their lives amicably. Troy and Lelaina reunite after Troy returns from his father's funeral and make amends. While we do not see what happens to Michael, during the credits there is an abrupt break where two characters, "Laina" and "Roy," who are obvious parodies of Lelaina and Troy, have an argument about their relationship and as the "show's" credits roll, Michael's name is revealed as the producer, implying that he has turned the failed relationship into the subject of a new show on his network.

Production

Based on a screenplay she wrote in 1990 called "Blue Bayou", Helen Childress was hired by producer Michael Shamberg to write a film about people in their twenties.cite news
last = Paatsch
first = Leigh
coauthors =
title = Reality Takes a Bite Out of Writer's Life
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = The Age
date = June 24, 1994
url =
accessdate = ] For three years she wrote and rewrote "Reality Bites", generating 70 different drafts. Childress decided to use her friends, their personalities and experiences as the basis for her film, even secretly tape-recording conversations. Ben Stiller signed on to direct in 1992 and worked for many months with Childress to develop the screenplay.cite news
last = Kolson
first = Ann
coauthors =
title = In the Family Tradition
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = Philadelphia Inquirer
date = February 20, 1994
url =
accessdate = ] As a result, the Michael Grates character changed from a 35-year-old advertising man trying to market Japanese candy bars in America to a slick TV executive in his twenties. The script was initially turned down by all the Hollywood studios because it tried to capture the Generation X market like "Singles" and that film was not a box office success.

After completing several period pieces, Winona Ryder was drawn to "Reality Bites" because she was looking "for something a little more contemporary because I really wanted to wear blue jeans for a change."cite news
last = Portman
first = Jamie
coauthors =
title = The Age of Cynicism
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = Ottawa Citizen
date = February 18, 1994
url =
accessdate = ] She read the script in one sitting and "found it very true to life." She further speculated in an interview, "I think my character is very close to what I would probably have ended up as if I hadn't become an actress."

"Reality Bites" went through four test screenings with a fairly decent reaction.

oundtrack

RCA met with the film's music supervisor Karyn Rachtman and Stiller three weeks into filming to discuss the soundtrack album.cite news
last = Boehlert
first = Eric
coauthors =
title = RCA Faces "Reality" as it Re-Enters Soundtrack Fray
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = Billboard
date = February 5, 1994
url =
accessdate = ] They finalized a deal and the label opened its roster to the director who picked only one band: Me Phi Me. RCA aggressively marketed the album and had five tracks on rotation on radio and MTV. The video for Crowded House's "Locked Out" was updated to include footage from the film. In addition, the video for "Spin the Bottle" by the Juliana Hatfield Three was directed by Stiller and featured clips from the film as well. The soundtrack sold 1.2 million units and reached #13 on the Billboard 200.cite news
last = Miller
first = Trudi
coauthors =
title = "Reality Bites" Fuels Spate of Soundtracks for RCA
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = Billboard
date = September 3, 1994
url =
accessdate = ] The album also earned a no. 1 single with Lisa Loeb's "Stay (I Missed You)".

The film's soundtrack includes songs by World Party, Squeeze, The Knack ("My Sharona" featured prominently in one scene from the film), Juliana Hatfield, Social Distortion, and two contributions from Crowded House ("Locked Out" & "Something So Strong") in addition to the runaway hit "Stay (I Missed You)" by Lisa Loeb, which earned Loeb the distinction of being the only artist to top the Hot 100 before being signed to any record label. It also includes "Conjunction Junction" from "Schoolhouse Rock!", another song brought into the foreground of a film full of pop culture references.

Track listing

#"My Sharona" - The Knack
#"Spin The Bottle" - Juliana Hatfield Three
#"Bed Of Roses" - The Indians
#"When You Come Back To Me" - World Party
#"Going, Going, Gone" - The Posies
#"Stay (I Missed You)" - Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories
#"All I Want Is You" - U2
#"Locked Out" - Crowded House
#"Spinning Around Over" - Lenny Kravitz
#"I'm Nuthin'" - Ethan Hawke
#"Turnip Farm" - Dinosaur Jr.
#"Revival" - Me Phi Me
#"Tempted" - Squeeze
#"Baby, I Love Your Way" - Big Mountain
#"Stay (I Missed You) (Living Room mix)" - Lisa Loeb
#"Add It Up" - Ethan Hawke (Violent Femmes cover)
#"Confusion" - New Order
#"Disco Inferno - The Trammps
#"Give a Man a Fish" - Arrested Development
#"Fools Like Me" - Lisa Loeb

Tracks 1-14 appear on the original soundtrack. Tracks 15-20 appear on the 10th Anniversary Edition of the soundtrack.

Reception

"Reality Bites" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1994.cite news
last = Byrge
first = Duane
coauthors =
title = "Reality Bites"
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = Hollywood Reporter
date = January 31, 1994
url = http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film/reviews/article_display.jsp?rid=573
accessdate = 2008-04-11 ] It did not perform as well at the box office as the studio had hoped. In six weeks it grossed $18.3 million which was more than the film's $11 million budget.cite news
last = Rickey
first = Carrie
coauthors =
title = Generation X Turns Its Back
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = Philadelphia Inquirer
date = April 3, 1994
url =
accessdate = ] Bruce Feldman, Universal Pictures' Vice-President of Marketing said, "The media labeled it as a Generation X picture, while we thought it was a comedy with broad appeal." The studio placed TV ads during programs chosen for their appeal to 12-34-year-olds and in interviews Stiller was careful not to mention the phrase, "Generation X."

The film received largely mixed reviews and currently has a rating of 64% on Rotten Tomatoes (50% for their "Cream of the Crop" designation). Caryn James in her review for the "New York Times" wrote, "Like the generation it presents so appealingly, it doesn't see any point in getting all bent out of shape and overambitious. But it knows how to hang out and have a great time." [cite news
last = James
first = Caryn
coauthors =
title = Coming of Age in Snippets
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = New York Times
date = February 18, 1994
url =
accessdate = ] In his review for the "Washington Post", Desson Howe wrote, "By aiming specifically - and accurately - at characters in their twenties, debuting screenwriter Helen Childress and first-time director Stiller achieve something even greater: they encapsulate an era." [cite news
last = Howe
first = Desson
coauthors =
title = "Reality Bites": Age of Innocents
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = Washington Post
date = February 18, 1994
url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/realitybitespg13howe_a0b035.htm
accessdate = 2007-10-22 ]

Lawsuit

In 2005, the real Troy Dyer (a financial planner from Wisconsincite news
last =
first =
coauthors =
title = Troy Dyer v. Helen Childress et al.
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = Wall Street Journal
date = February 26, 2007
url = http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/dyer0307.pdf
format=PDF
accessdate = 2008-04-11 ] ) sued writer Helen Childress, producer Danny DeVito and director Ben Stiller.cite news
last = Simmons
first = Leslie
coauthors =
title = Appeals Court Denies "Reality Bites" SLAPP Protection
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = Hollywood Reporter
date = February 27, 2007
url = http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003551138
accessdate = 2008-04-11 ] Dyer claimed that after the 2004 release of the tenth anniversary DVD of the film he had "inquiries from potential clients as to whether he was the fictional Troy Dyer". Universal, Childress, DeVito and Stiller attempted to seek shelter under California's anti-SLAPP statutes but in early 2007 the appeals court denied them SLAPP protection with the following decision: "In sum, assuming the issues facing Generation X at the start of the 1990’s are of significant interest to the public, Dyer, a financial consultant living in Wisconsin who happened to have gone to school with Childress, was not connected to these issues in any way. Thus, the defendants failed to meet their initial burden of showing the activity underlying Dyer’s lawsuit was in furtherance of the defendants’ constitutional right of free speech in connection with a public issue or an issue of public interest".

References

ee also

*"Singles" and "Slacker", two slightly earlier films with similar themes and less of a Hollywood treatment
*"S.F.W. (1994)
*"Austin Stories"

External links

* [http://www.realitybitesdvd.com/ Official Site]
*imdb title|id=0110950|title=Reality Bites
*amg movie|id=1:131129|title=Reality Bites
*rotten-tomatoes|id=reality_bites|title=Reality Bites