Diner
Barry Levinson, 1982, USA, 110 minutes
Many films are based around a question:
Citizen Kane
is based around
the question, "must power corrupt?";
Crimes and Misdemeanours
is based
around the question, "is God blind?"; and
Diner
is based around the question
"do you want that sandwich?"
The first and best Barry Levinson's Baltimore films,
Diner
is the story
of a group of friends undergoing the change from boys to responsible adults,
something at which they fail almost completely; When faced with the trials of
real life they flee to the sanctuary of interminable conversation in an all-night
diner. This diner of the title is the scene of friendship, nostalgia, and at
least one Pepsi advert. Dull as this might sound, the film is made wonderful
by the humour in their conversation. Despite the set-piece jokes, such as Mickey
Rourke sticking his privates into a bowl of popcorn, and the girlfriend of one
of the boys being forced to sit and pass a football trivia quiz before he will
marry her, the real laughs in this very funny film stem from the constant bickering
in the diner.
Levinson's script shows the joy of conversation at its most tangential. As
in real life, when someone in this film is asked the question, "who do you prefer:
Sinatra or Mathis?", he simply replies, "Presley."
Review by John Moffat
Taken from EUFS Programme 1994-95