So many people have told me how this is one of THE must see movies of the 90s.... and that it explains so much of the social climate of the 90s to a t.

Maybe it's one of those''had to be the right age in the time period'' type movies...(I was only 3 when this came out

But i thought this movie was awful... in fact one of the worst from the 90s....

The characters are all privileged kids who could be successful at life but choose to be losers....

Ethan Hawke..lawd:roll:

His character is repulsive yet we are supposed to root for him & Winona....

Ethan Hawke or Troy as his character is called.. is supposed ot be a misunderstood genius or some crap.

He refuses to graduate, seems reluctant to work.. except in a shitty band he is in & is an asshole to everyone! especially Winona's character

This somewhat reminds me of Trainspotting, where privileged youths do bad thing's as they do in Reality Bites.. but they suffer consequences.

So, maybe it was a had to be in the time type flick... but i thought it some of the most unlikable characters you where supposed to root for in a movie....

Did anybody see it when it first came out?

I tried to watch it but I always turn the channel.

Lisa Loeb had the best song off that period from its soundtrack though... ("Stay"). I think it was on Reality Bites...

Timmy84 said:

I tried to watch it but I always turn the channel.

Lisa Loeb had the best song off that period from its soundtrack though... ("Stay"). I think it was on Reality Bites...

Oh yeah, it is in the movie a few times

This movie is just.... when you are supposed to root for characters who are assholes, steal from parents, get the girl, are abusive to others... won't work, think they are superior to everyone else & they suffer no consequences.... that is just silly to me

And there is a guy in the movie who thinks he might have HIV.. he is one of the only good characters but bad shit keeps happening to him!, and Ben Stiller... he is supposed to be the wrong guy for Winona cause he has a job & isn't in a band

Gunsnhalen said:

Timmy84 said:

I tried to watch it but I always turn the channel.

Lisa Loeb had the best song off that period from its soundtrack though... ("Stay"). I think it was on Reality Bites...

Oh yeah, it is in the movie a few times

This movie is just.... when you are supposed to root for characters who are assholes, steal from parents, get the girl, are abusive to others... won't work, think they are superior to everyone else & they suffer no consequences.... that is just silly to me

And there is a guy in the movie who thinks he might have HIV.. he is one of the only good characters but bad shit keeps happening to him!, and Ben Stiller... he is supposed to be the wrong guy for Winona cause he has a job & isn't in a band

It was like an extra douchebaggery Breakfast Club.

It was okay. I was in high school when I saw it and I remember it seeming so grown up. And then I actually grew up and realized nobody but pretentious assholes have dialogue like this movie. It definitely tries too hard, particularly Ethan's character. But I do like Janeane Garafalo and Steve Zahn's characters. And I do enjoy Ben Stiller as well. I definitely do not consider this the movie that sums up the 90's. But then again, I'm not sure what film does. I feel like the 90's does not have its own identity...except for the producer of many crappy one hit wonder songs.

YOU ARE LIVING IN THE BELL JAR!!!!

I saw it a few years after it came out and hated it. I remember thinking it was one of the worst teenage movies made. Maybe it was supposed to reflect the time it was made in but it was terrible.

Of course I didn't like that it was supposed to be based in Houston and looks nothing like it. Lol. There are no mountains or hills in Houston so I thought it funny.

Were the characters in Trainspotting all that privileged?

[Edited 12/2/12 17:58pm]

i saw the movie when it came out, and i didn't like it.

I love it

But I love the vibe of the 90's and anything with Winona anyway

thekidsgirl said:

I love it

But I love the vibe of the 90's and anything with Winona anyway

I love Winona too but I couldn't dig this film in particular. She was at her best in Heathers and Girl Interrupted.

it's not a favorite but I didn't dislike it either. I wouldn't call it pretentious though because if anything it was actually more of a parody of the pretentiousness of those characters, especially Ethan's.

Gunsnhalen said:

The characters are all privileged kids who could be successful at life but choose to be losers....

A classic example of the "slacker" genre that probably first reared its ugly head with Douglas Coupland's Generation X. For a time, it was all the rage to play off your sloth as some kind of conscientious objection to "the system", man! Actually, dudes and dudettes like this are still around, in droves. From urbandictionary.com:

slacker

A slacker is someone who while being intelligent, doesn't really feel like doing anything.

Or, from Wikipedia:

Slacker became widely used in the 1990s to refer to apathetic Generation X youth who were cynical and uninterested in political or social causes compared to their elders, the baby boomer generation.

The term has connotations of "apathy and aimlessness."^[11] It is also used to refer to an educated person who avoids work, possibly as an anti-materialist stance, who may be viewed as an underachiever.^[10]

Gunshalen said:

His character is repulsive yet we are supposed to root for him & Winona....

Can't you see he's a romantic wrapped inside the protective armor of cynicism?! And, uh...he's reallly good-looking?!

Gunshalen said:
Did anybody see it when it first came out?

Yep. It was written by a 22-year-old. That pretty much says it all.

Gunsnhalen said:

and Ben Stiller... he is supposed to be the wrong guy for Winona cause he has a job & isn't in a band

He's a square, man! Part of the system!

Timmy84 said:

Gunsnhalen said:

Oh yeah, it is in the movie a few times

This movie is just.... when you are supposed to root for characters who are assholes, steal from parents, get the girl, are abusive to others... won't work, think they are superior to everyone else & they suffer no consequences.... that is just silly to me

And there is a guy in the movie who thinks he might have HIV.. he is one of the only good characters but bad shit keeps happening to him!, and Ben Stiller... he is supposed to be the wrong guy for Winona cause he has a job & isn't in a band

It was like an extra douchebaggery Breakfast Club.

JuliePurplehead said:

then I actually grew up and realized nobody but pretentious assholes have dialogue like this movie.

I definitely do not consider this the movie that sums up the 90's. But then again, I'm not sure what film does.

Maybe this? :

thekidsgirl said:

But I love the vibe of the 90's and anything with Winona anyway

Winona.

Timmy84 said:

She was at her best in Heathers and Girl Interrupted.

Ace said:

JuliePurplehead said:

then I actually grew up and realized nobody but pretentious assholes have dialogue like this movie.

I definitely do not consider this the movie that sums up the 90's. But then again, I'm not sure what film does.

Maybe this? :

Now pump up the volume i dig even if it is a bit of a guility pleasure

Gunsnhalen said:

Ace said:

Maybe this? :

Now pump up the volume i dig even if it is a bit of a guility pleasure

It ain't exactly Crimes and Misdemeanors, but it might sum up the era.

I did watch it at the time. I think some female classmate of mine urged me to watch it as the greatest movie ever. I don't recall being that impressed.