Diner

Year: 1982

Grade: B

Country: USA

Director: Levinson

Review

a modern classic of sorts. never watched this in its entirety until tonight, though i had seen parts before. in my family this film is most well known for the character (who has 2-3 scenes tops) who recites lines from the sweet smell of success. he’s basically a throw away character, but for some reason he’s seemingly the only reason my dad even mentions this film. it’s got a good cast of characters and some nice dialogue. it goes over the usual 20-something malaise and lack of direction stuff that the graduate or american graffiti type films cover. it feels like a small town film, but it takes place in baltimore so that’s odd. it’s also interesting to note that the colts were a central element of one of the storylines, but they ended up moving out of baltimore a couple years after the film was released.

daniel stern has had a fortunate career. he’s a fine enough actor, but i think i’ll remember him best for his ability to pick important movies. breaking away, diner, c.h.u.d., home alone, city slickers, blue thunder, born in east l.a., hannah and her sisters, leviathan – these are all little classics in their own way. they’re not all brilliant works, but they’re each important or noteworthy for one reason or another and stern, a character actor, happened to get into all of them.