Synopsis
Set in 1959, Diner shows how five young men resist their adulthood and seek refuge in their beloved Diner. The mundane, childish, and titillating details of their lives are shared. But the golden moments pass, and the men shoulder their responsibilities, leaving the Diner behind.
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Cast
- Steve GuttenbergEdward 'Eddie' Simmons
- Daniel SternLaurence 'Shrevie' Schreiber
- Mickey RourkeRobert 'Boogie' Sheftell
- Kevin BaconTimothy Fenwick Jr.
- Tim DalyWilliam 'Billy' Howard
- Ellen BarkinBeth Schreiber
- Paul ReiserModell
- Kathryn DowlingBarbara
- Michael TuckerBagel
- Jessica JamesMrs. Simmons
Recommendations
- 100
TV Guide Magazine
Diner is an often hilarious, frequently touching film. - 90
Chicago Reader
Levinson's dialogue feels fresh and improvised, yet it hits its mark every time, and the performances he gets are complex and original (particularly from Mickey Rourke, who plays a lothario with a late-blooming conscience) - enough so that Levinson's occasional forced "cinematic" effects cause barely a ripple in the smooth, naturalistic surface. - 90
The New York Times
Diner isn't lavish or long, but it's the sort of small, honest, entertaining movie that should never go out of style, even in an age of sequels and extravaganzas. - 90
Time
The film is wonderfully cast and played, right down to the bit player (Ralph Tabakin) who shops suspiciously for a TV set: "I saw Bananzo and it was not for me." - 88
Chicago Sun-Times
Diner is often a very funny movie, although I laughed most freely not at the sexual pranks but at the movie's accurate ear, as it reproduced dialogue with great comic accuracy. - 88
Boston Globe
Barry Levinson's Diner is an extremely clever, slick male fantasy that takes some time to work out its mood and tone but ultimately blossoms into a moving film. [16 Apr 1982] - 88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
A serious and funny and subtle work - a work of art - that was easy to confuse with exploitation teeny-bopper quickies because it did what the quickies had tried to do. But Diner did it right. [22 Apr 1982] - 80
Empire
Levinson’s self-penned 1982 directorial debut and the first of his “Baltimore films” is a disarming reminiscence on buddydom.
