Diner

1982 Comedy Drama

Writer-director Barry Levinson's autobiographical first feature fondly remembers his Baltimore youth. It's late 1959, and six guys in their early twenties are stumbling into adulthood, alternating responsibility with carefree time at their local diner. The story centers on the return from college of Billy (Tim Daly) to serve as best man at the wedding of his pal Eddie (Steve Guttenberg). Billy is consumed by a confusing relationship with a close female friend, while Eddie still lives at home, preparing a football trivia test for his fiancée and vowing to cancel the wedding if she fails. Other characters woven into the narrative include Boogie (Mickey Rourke), a womanizer with a gambling problem, and Shrevie (Daniel Stern), a music addict with a troubled marriage. Diner became known for its bittersweet comic screenplay and its remarkable cast, which also included Paul Reiser, Kevin Bacon, and Ellen Barkin. In order to capture the loose, laid-back dialogue of the diner scenes, Levinson directed them last, so that the actors would be more comfortable with each other. Diner was the first part of Levinson's "Baltimore Trilogy," followed by Tin Men (1987) and Avalon (1990). more..

Director: Barry Levinson

Starring: Steve Guttenberg,Daniel Stern, Mickey Rourke,Kevin Bacon, Tim Daly

Reviews

  • Diner is an often hilarious, frequently touching film.

    - TV Guide

    19 January 2013

  • Diner isn't lavish or long, but it's the sort of small, honest, entertaining movie that should never go out of style, even in an age of sequels and extravaganzas.

    Janet Maslin - The New York Times

    19 January 2013

  • The film is wonderfully cast and played, right down to the bit player (Ralph Tabakin) who shops suspiciously for a TV set: "I saw Bananzo and it was not for me."

    Richard Corliss - Time

    19 January 2013

  • Levinson's dialogue feels fresh and improvised, yet it hits its mark every time, and the performances he gets are complex and original (particularly from Mickey Rourke, who plays a lothario with a late-blooming conscience) - enough so that Levinson's occasional forced "cinematic" effects cause barely a ripple in the smooth, naturalistic surface.

    Dave Kehr - Chicago Reader

    19 January 2013

  • Diner is often a very funny movie, although I laughed most freely not at the sexual pranks but at the movie's accurate ear, as it reproduced dialogue with great comic accuracy.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

    Academy Awards (1983)

     
  • Best Screenplay

    Boston Society of Film Critics Awards (1983)

  • Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical

    Golden Globes (1983)

     
  • Best Screenplay

    Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (1982)

  • Best Supporting Actor

    National Society of Film Critics Awards (1983)