"Diner" is a sharp, nostalgic slice-of-life film that thrives on its naturalistic dialogue and effortless ensemble chemistry. Barry Levinson’s debut feature captures the aimlessness of young adulthood with humor and authenticity, weaving together conversations that feel both mundane and profound. The cast, including Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, and Steve Guttenberg, brings a lived-in quality to their roles, making even the most casual exchanges engaging. While its loose structure may not appeal to all, "Diner" remains a witty, well-observed film that helped define the modern hangout movie.

I found it a slog to get through. Couldn’t connect with the characters or the dialogue. It was flat and boring. Too many of the characters looked the same, making it hard to follow at times. Watched on DVD.

Definitely a guys movie. This movie is a guilty pleasure! Will always recommend as a great movie!

I remember when this came out and having high hopes for it but was totally disappointed. Just tried watching it again and it's just as tedious as I remember it. "American Graffiti" it most definitely is not. Good cast but the writing is annoying and so are the characters. I'd say it hasn't aged well at all, but it was never that great in the first place. By 1982 the whole 50's nostalgia thing was beaten to death, there had been a whole slew of movies in the wake of American Graffiti and this was just another. Levinson did a better movie a few years later called "The Tin Men" that was basically like the older guys at the diner, with Richard Dreyfus and Danny Devito, two of their best performances.

This film is boring, long winded and pretentious. It tries to be an art house American Graffiti, and fails at every level.

Probably the best thing about this movie is that it depicts the 50s away from the common romanticization of the era, despite the nostalgia involved. Romanticizing an era is not wrong, but is prone to leave small details behind, like the ones a group of friends would have usually lived through, and render them unmentioned and forgotten. Diner is like one of those 90s comedies involving a group of friends, except it's set in older days, making it enjoyable but also unique. However, as with those aforementioned comedies, the plot generally hasn't much to offer, which is something expected from a movie trying to maintain a specific sub-genre.

A coming of age tale set in good time late 1950s. Every time I watch this kind films I wonder how it's gonna conclude its story. Nothing really happen but watchable because this has comfortable dialogs.

Set in 1959 Baltimore, Barry Levinson's Diner is, simply put, a film about friendship. Six childhood buddies, now in their early twenties, reunite over the Christmas holidays, reminiscing about the past while coming to terms with the burden of adult responsibility. With no central plot to speak of, Levinson's script focuses on a series of sub-plots – an upcoming wedding, a failing marriage, a gambling debt, among other things. The film works on the strength of the dialogue, which always feels natural and spontaneous, sharply defined characters, and some great performances from its young cast, which includes early performances from the likes of Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin and Paul Reiser. Diner is a touching and relatable slice-of-life experience where the drama never becomes melodramatic and the humor never gets in the way of the stories, a winner from start to finish.

A story about long-time friendships, getting marriage, and life in Baltimore. One friend gets married, another later, and in between guys acting like guys at a diner and elsewhere.

"It's the Colts' marching song. Tasteful, very tasteful." Though it's never made clear in the film, I know exactly where the diner was 'located' (it was apparently erected for the film, rather than using the original spot where Levinson's actual childhood diner stood); it was down on Boston Street in Canton, just down from the Safeway I used to shop at. The site is now covered by condos up and down the harborfront a quarter mile in each direction, and is across from a sushi place and an Outback Steakhouse. There might be some insight to take away from that change, but I'm not the one to make it. I was just there to get groceries. It's so easy for retrospectives on bygone days (particularly when they are passion projects from a director depicting his own adolescent experiences) to feel like they are appealing to cheap sentimentality. 'Member when people put a quarter in the jukebox to dance with their steady girl down at the Tasty Freeze? Diner isn't like that, it doesn't limit itself to generic reminiscing with a paint-by-number sory. Instead, you get an intimate, character-driven blend of comedy and drama that takes on sincere aspects of the experience of young adulthood and is hammered home by improvisational performances that give the group dynamic an authentic flair. You come looking for copper in what could be easily assumed at first glance to be low-hanging fruit for Boomer audiences, and instead find cinematic gold. There might be a bit of disillusionment on my part because whenever you watch something about a subject that you're familiar with (like Baltimore in this case), there's a tendency to be a bit more critical, but overall it's not a film that you can complain about very much. I love how there is one single character, Earl, who shows up in only two scenes: the first is when he is introduced at the diner itself, and the group demonstrates that they are not only keenly aware of him but treat him as a vaunted member of their experience thanks to his huge appetite; the second is his wordless appearance stuffing his face at one of their weddings. (4/5)

I love a good banter movie and that's what we get with Diner. Set in 1959 Baltimore (one of Barry Levinson's "Baltimore Tetralogy"), the actors that make up the group of friends interact as if they'd all really known each other their entire lives. Apparently, Levinson wanted the actors to improvise to build fluidity and the bond of real friendship; it worked. Sometimes, we forget how much of a heartthrob Mickey Rourke really was back then — he's a naturally cool character that isn't over-the-top. I'm also partial to diners as an establishment, as an NJ native this film could've been set in Montclair or New Brunswick or Haddonfield and it still would've fit — just substitute Eddie's (Steve Guttenberg) love of the Colts with the Giants, Eagles, or Jets. Took one look at that gravy on fries and I knew I'd like these guys. There isn't a plot in the traditional sense, and that's ok here. Some films can thrive on just character building, solid acting, and a certain time period in the characters' life — that time when, like a domino effect, bachelorhood starts to come to an end. Eddie making his fiancée (Sharon Ziman) pass a quiz on the Baltimore Colts before he'd tie-the-knot reminded me of my father. *Side Note* I'd pay to see a short film of Eddie handling the news of the Colts moving to Indianapolis. While weddings have served as endings to stories since Shakespeare, this one was perfect with an equally perfect final shot of the gang sans Eddie. Diner is for everyone but definitely will resonate with men in their late twenties and early thirties.

The greatest guy movie ever!!

This movie was whatever. It was kinda boring and not too funny. I guess they have good chemistry and that's probably why this movie is remembered.

The script is weak and the characters unlikable.

Star-studded bro coming-of-age tale. Well conceived.

Interesting slice of late 50's Baltimore testosterone. College age guys enjoy Christmas break.

Friday April 26 2019

The best comedy movie ever made!

Have the pleasure to watch these young ensemble of great actors in "Diner", is death, and I mean it in the best way possible, but what I enjoyed the most is the writing! The dialogs are funny, simple and most importantly they feel real, authentic. Loved the music and settings too. ps: it seems like comedy from all decades is still fun, except the 90s. The 90s sucked.

Pretty good classic movie starring Kevin bacon and some other cool guys. Parts of this movie were really slow but some were good. So in the end this is a pretty mediocre movie.