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. In the film, Lelaina (Ryder), an aspiring videographer, works on a documentary about the disenchanted lives of her friends and roommates.
This article is about the film. For the television series, see Reality Bites (TV series). For the The Simpsons episode, see Realty Bites.
Childress wrote the initial screenplay on spec in 1990, inspired by the lives of her and her friends during the recession. Stiller was initially hired solely as director in 1991, and starred in the film after working with Childress for nine to ten months on the final screenplay, which was completed in December 1992. The film faced production delays until Ryder committed to the project, which led to the casting of Hawke and Zahn. Garofalo was fired during filming but was recast 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.[5] It grossed $41 million worldwide.[6] It also appeared on some critics' year-end lists for 1994 and 1995.
While actress Janeane Garofalo has rejected the film's reputation as a Generation X movie, many have embraced it as such.[7] The film has since achieved cult status for its depiction of the career and lifestyle choices faced by young adults.
Plot[edit]
Four friends, recent college graduates, live together in Houston, Texas. Coffee-house 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 has aspirations to become a documentarian, 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 soon begin to date. 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.
Meanwhile, Lelaina's relationship with Michael dissolves after he helps her sell the documentary to his network, only to let them edit it into a stylized montage that compromises her artistic vision. Lelaina and Troy have a heart-to-heart which leads to them sleeping together and confessing their feelings. The morning after, he avoids her, and after a messy confrontation, leaves town. When Troy's father dies, it forces him to reevaluate his life, deciding to attempt a relationship with Lelaina.
Troy and Lelaina reunite and make amends once he returns from his father's funeral in Chicago. While we do not see what happens to Michael, during the credits there is an abrupt break where two characters, "Elaina" and "Roy", who are obvious parodies of Lelaina and Troy, have an argument about their relationship. As the "show's" credits roll, Michael's name is revealed as the creator, implying that he has turned the relationship between Lelaina and Troy into the subject of a new show on his network.
Lawsuit[edit]
In 2005, the real Dyer (a film financier) sued writer Childress, producer DeVito, and director Stiller.[44] Dyer claimed that screenwriter Childress stated on audio commentary tracks that she wrote the story based on her actual college friends and roommates, and that he was then forced to deal with past and potential clients' "inquiries as to whether he was the fictional character" as well as internet users attributing outlandish, caustic, unprofessional and immature quotations lifted from the film’s dialogue as being ideas and jargon of his own.[44] The defendants attempted to seek shelter under California's anti-SLAPP statutes, but in early 2007 the appeals court denied them SLAPP protection.[44] The suit was quickly settled after Dyer received a written document from Childress stating he was not the person portrayed in the film.[45]
Television series[edit]
In May 2022, it was reported that a television series adaptation of the film is in the works at Peacock with Childress, DeVito, Jenna Bans, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher and Casey Kyber serving as executive producers.[46]