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Reality Bites

Reality Bites

Drama · Romance · Comedy · 1994

A small circle of friends suffering from post-collegiate blues must confront the hard truth about life, love and the pursuit of gainful employment. As they struggle to map out survival guides for the future, the Gen-X quartet soon begins to realize that reality isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Movie details

Reality Bites

“A comedy about love in the '90s”

1994 Drama · Romance · Comedy 1h 38m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

A small circle of friends suffering from post-collegiate blues must confront the hard truth about life, love and the pursuit of gainful employment. As they struggle to map out survival guides for the future, the Gen-X quartet soon begins to realize that reality isn't all it's cracked up to be.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Reality Bites?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Fools Rush In

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Singles

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The Four Seasons

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Three middle-aged wealthy couples take vacations together in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Along the way we are treated to mid-life, marital, parental and other crises.

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Café Society

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Which Brings Me to You

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Anything Else

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Coyote Ugly

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ben Stiller

Written by

Helen Childress

Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder

Lelaina Pierce

Ethan Hawke

Ethan Hawke

Troy Dyer

Janeane Garofalo

Janeane Garofalo

Vickie Miner

Steve Zahn

Steve Zahn

Sammy Gray

Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller

Michael Grates

Swoosie Kurtz

Swoosie Kurtz

Charlane McGregor

Harry O'Reilly

Harry O'Reilly

Wes McGregor

Court is in session

Put Reality Bites on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.