Reality Bites

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Reality Bites

PG-13

1994

1h 38m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

62%

Tomatometer

60 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

After college, Lelaina (Winona Ryder) films a documentary about herself and friends as they flounder in their attempts to forge relationships and begin careers. Vickie (Janeane Garofalo) works retail, has an endless string of one-night stands and awaits the results of her HIV test. Sammy (Steve Zahn) tries to come out to his parents. Lelaina gets involved with yuppie Michael (Ben Stiller) while maintaining a love-hate relationship with Troy (Ethan Hawke), who's undergoing an existential crisis.

Critics Consensus

Reality Bites may be too slick to fulfill its promise as a profound statement on Generation X, but an appealing ensemble and romantic sizzle make for an entertaining dive into the ennui of youth.

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Clarisse Loughrey

Independent (UK)

08/03/2019

A lot has changed between the generations, but Reality Bites asks a question that anyone, of any age, will find familiar: what happens when the life you were promised isn't the life you got?

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Noel Murray

AV Club

08/03/2019

In a picture full of painful moments, it's hard to decide on the lowest point.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

02/15/2018

Written with verve and played with grace, Reality Bites is too smart to pass itself off as a definitive statement, but it gets the details delightfully right.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Mar 18

3/5

...a pleasant, easy-to-watch movie, but one which will speak most strongly to those nostalgic for a past that never really existed....

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Sean Burns

WBUR’s Arts & Culture

04/25/2024

For a lot of us Gen Xers, watching ‘Reality Bites’ now is like looking at an awkward yearbook picture of yourself when you had your worst haircut.

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

03/26/2021

6/10

As a depiction of a particular age in a particular country for a specific generation, it is still a pleasant nostalgic trip.

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Carlos I

@carlosFibarra 22h

Ben Stiller’s Reality Bites remains a quintessential time capsule of 90s slacker culture, but looking at it today, this really has not aged well. While I recognize how cool and romantic the leads are supposed to be, they just stand as insufferable douches, wrapped in a blanket of unearned cynicism and pretentious entitlement. This is especially true with the treatment of Stiller’s character, Michael, who is vilified simply for having a stable job and showing genuine affection, while Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke’s characters are celebrated for being toxic and judgmental. What was once marketed as a generation’s defining romance now plays out as a frustrating exercise in rooting for the wrong people.

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EE D

@RT03285035 Jan 11

Really hard to watch, it's soo cheesy that the bile got up my throat. The stupid beginning & then the opening scene where they argue at the table is just plain bad, couldn't watch more

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Iva E.

@iva.eisinger Jan 2

Don’t think I was the target audience for the nostalgia of this film. However, still enjoyed it for the vibes despite the characters being of the most part totally unlikable.

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Monty G

@Montyginger Jan 1

You know it’s a good movie when Winona has the best haircut of all time and when it’s a Gen X movie

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Mo S.

@9mr_0 Dec 16

جيد القصة جيده رغم بعض الهفوات و الفلسفة المالها داعي

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Steve Y

@Cubby65 Dec 4

If snark and pop culture references are your thing, you've come to the right place. Worth a watch, anyway.

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Ben Stiller

Director

Winona Ryder

Lelaina Pierce

Ethan Hawke

Troy Dyer

Ben Stiller

Michael Grates

Janeane Garofalo

Vickie Miner

Steve Zahn

Sammy Gray

Reality Bites: Official Clip - My Sharona

1:05

Reality Bites: Official Clip - You Look Like a Doily

2:51

Reality Bites: Official Clip - A Den of Slack

1:47

Reality Bites: Official Clip - Troy Comes Back

2:59

Reality Bites: Official Clip - A Total Prick

2:54

Reality Bites: Official Clip - Only Love Can Break Your Heart

2:48

Reality Bites: Official Clip - Freaking Out

2:27

Reality Bites: Official Clip - A Cup of Joe

2:03

Reality Bites: Official Clip - The World Doesn't Owe You Any Favors

2:18

Reality Bites: Official Clip - Non-Practicing Virgin

1:50

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Synopsis

After college, Lelaina (Winona Ryder) films a documentary about herself and friends as they flounder in their attempts to forge relationships and begin careers. Vickie (Janeane Garofalo) works retail, has an endless string of one-night stands and awaits the results of her HIV test. Sammy (Steve Zahn) tries to come out to his parents. Lelaina gets involved with yuppie Michael (Ben Stiller) while maintaining a love-hate relationship with Troy (Ethan Hawke), who's undergoing an existential crisis.

Director: Ben Stiller
Producer: Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg
Screenwriter: Helen Childress
Distributor: United International Pictures, Argentina Video Home, MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
Production Co: Jersey Films, Universal Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 18, 1994, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 30, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $20.0M
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo, DTS