Feature
Diner
(1982)
In 1982, Barry Levinson made his directorial
debut with a semi-autobiographical
account of his stomping ground days in
1950s Baltimore. That film was DINER
(1982), an often hilarious, confidently
insightful look at male adolescence and the
fear of responsibility.
Set between Christmas Night and New
Years Eve 1959, DINER focuses on a group
of twenty-something friends who spend
most of their free time enjoying each
other’s company in the local diner. Among
them are the soon-to-be-married,
hypersensitive Eddie Simmons (Steve
Guttenberg), smooth talking, money
scheming Lothario “Boogie” Sheftell
(Mickey Rourke), avoidant, music obsessed
husband “Shrevie” Schreiber (Daniel Stern),
wisecracking funnyman Modell (Paul
Reiser), intelligent, yet problematic dropout
Fenwick (Kevin Bacon), and the responsible
visitor with an itch for debauchery Billy
Howard (Tim Daly). Together, these
buddies spend the next five days getting
into trouble with the law, trying to seduce
women, and gradually coming into their
own as mature young men…but not
without a quick trip or two to the diner.
The charm of this film certainly comes
with the chemistry of all of these fine
actors, who play off each other’s quirks,
neuroses, and back-and-forth insults.
These comes primarily due to Levinson’s
decision to mic everyone separately and
ad-lib during conversation, leading to
natural, inconsequential banter like Elvis vs
Sinatra and the permission to steal one’s
food. But DINER reaches beyond group
conversation, as each character is
grounded in strong, three dimensional