The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Slightly cynical, but not overwhelmingly so. Good cast. Probably one of the better Winona Ryder films-- better than 'Heathers' I think. I like Ben Stiller, so I liked his character better than his rival's, but Ethan Hawke's guy was okay too I guess. There's also something to be said about having a clear resolution to a three-party triangle where one of the two rivals is clearly chosen, although in this case I think the choice was somewhat influenced by 90s anti-business cynicism. Although I'll admit that Hawke's character was sympathetic to some degree for me, despite being somewhat cynical about life. On the whole about as good as many movies of this kind, and better than some. And it's not bad, pretty nice, to see Winona Ryder get a good part in a film that, works for her, I guess, since a lot of them don't, I think. She always comes across to me as a nice girl with usually bad luck, so it's good to see her when she's at her luckiest. (8/10)

I love this film; Ethan Hawke is brilliant and really does sum up the 'searcher' generation, the new Beat. Grunge in this film is typified by over-intelligent, under-achieving, dope induced philosophical musings and desire to make a difference but not knowing how to go about it in world where young people feel anonymous and disenfranchised and dealing with modern day issues; coming out, HIV tests, unemployment, friendship, love and life aspirations.I think this is perfectly cast, loads of familiar faces, and I think this is my favourite role of Winona Ryder. Steve Zahn and Janeane Garofalo were great and the comedy, and Ben Stiller (who also directed) is good despite being an atypical role for him, and is one of his best roles. Ethan Hawke, however, is the deserved lead in this snapshot of reality, and a showcase of his band/singing. This is a well cast and performed ensemble cast production, and there are truisms left right and centre; it speaks to the heart & soul and is relevant to the 90s generation and I'm sure has relevance to later decades and has - IMHO - aged well. It is super-funny, touching and enlightening; something for everyone who's young enough and old enough. Even after 20 years it's one of my favourite films and watching it gives me such a warm feeling.

Broad and shallow film directed by Ben Stiller spins an unoriginal and unsurprising tale with characters and situations seen a dozen times before. The only things that have changed are the clothes, the soundtrack, the slang and the cultural references which begin to feel like the film's only purpose for being. This film covers ground so familiar that it's flat and barren. The central characters feel like stand-ins for real people, the romance doesn't spark, and the one-dimensional feel of it all makes this more about Generation ZZZZZZ than X. Not one of the actors has an original or memorable moment or anything of interest to say.

See, I'm a product of the 1990s. Most of my friends/peers that are of my age believe their "decade" of choice is the 1980s. But, my heart belongs in the 1990s.I loved the music better. I came out. I learned about life in and around college. I traveled a lot and expanded my horizons tremendously. This didn't come without a price – one I would surely pay in the double naughts. (I'm sure those who "had fun" in the 1960s felt the same in the following disco decade.)That all said, it was thoroughly refreshing to revisit Reality Bites, the quintessential 1990s movie. Okay, I would include Clueless into that genre, but that's another viewing/review. It had the independence feel, the snappy and intelligent dialogue, the product placement (oh, that was abundant and to think we thought the 1980s people were materialistic…) and the grunge look. Heck, we see the (NBC's) Friends characters who can live comfortably in the big city, in a nice apartment, without so much a job nor two nickels to rub together. I would LOVE to live and breathe so comfortably without employment as these young adults lived in decades past.But, I digress. This movie was wonderful. It had an excellent soundtrack and fantastic acting. Though Hawke and Ryder were both perfect, I always love seeing Garofalo and truly loved seeing all the "future" (to 1994's Reality Bites) secondary actors get some screen-time. Such as Spade, Stiller, Zahn, Zellweger and (Andy) Dick.Basically the movie revolves around slackers Lelaina (Ryder) and Troy (Hawke) who inadvertently become roommates, along with best bud, Gap-Manager Vickie (Garofalo.) It's obvious that Lelaina and Troy need to be together, but after a chance meeting between Lelaina and Michael (Stiller) the tension rises.Throw in a few subplots, involving the topic of the moment: AIDS and gays coming out, you have a very well-thought out, WAY before its time film. Forgive me – no, take that back, I make no apologies for my reviews or opinions – but I would compare this "independent/reality show" movie to Citizen Kane. Both movies had great ideas, presented them, and though neither took off at the time, both were looked back upon as "experiments" that would show up dozens of times in the far future. Survivor, anyone? How about The Blair Witch Project's hand-held cameras held by amateur filmmakers?I first saw Reality Bites immediately when it arrived in theatres in 1994 and liked it a lot. I made a decision to see it again, since I liked it then and it defined my 20's (actually, I just turned 20 at that point) but I never got around to it…until now, 16 years later after someone recommended it after viewing my site. I am SO glad he did. I might never have seen this fantastic movie again.I remembered a lot of the wonderful dialogue – and I could even still quote it: "Would the two of you just do it and get it over with? I'm starving!" and "If I could bottle the sexual tension between Bonnie Franklin and Schneider, I could solve the energy crisis," and loved the many, many references, including Melrose Place. Furthermore, I did purchase the soundtrack and fell madly in love with all the tracks, but mainly: "My Sharona" and "Stay (I Missed You.)"For anyone who hasn't previously seen this movie, again, like Clueless, it might be hard to watch now as it might appear "dated." But truly, the dialogue, love story – boy it still makes me choke up in the closing, and references are still fresh today. And that makes this a must see for 1990s lovers and anyone who's young, finding themselves and need to believe in dreams.Side Note: The "edited" version of Lelaina's video was really…not that bad. I believe she completely overreacted, but that's not what the character Ryder played wanted. So, to move the story along, I guess we just have to accept it was a bad product, when in "reality," she needs to lighten up. On a positive note, it did lead her to make the true (and painfully obvious) romantic choice.