Just Don’t Touch My Records…Ever.
I’m a great fan of Barry Levinson’s directorial debut, Diner. Love all the talking, all those actors (how Paul Reiser practically steals the movie in a small role).
Here’s one of my favorite scenes, about a young couple that don’t really understand each other. What I really like about it is that you can appreciate where both the husband and the wife are coming from, how deep the divide is between them. Doesn’t hurt that Daniel Stern and Ellen Barkin are in top form.
Man, I love this movie.
Ellen Barkin--a Bronx Girl!--was SMOKIN hot.
[1] Ellen Barkin...Sea of Love...'nuff said.
great movie. "I don't like color television. I watched Bonanza the other night...the ponderosa looked green"
Alex, you don't even know how much I love this movie. I used to watch and re-watch it all the time - God, I need to see it again.
Yeah, and the end credits are great too, with more conversation. I mean, what a cast, right?
And the thing that's always interested me about the characters is the story takes place right before the 60s. I always imagine that in 10 years time, that crew would have been completely split. Counter culture, hippies, etc. Everything would have changed.
That scene is so perfect. I'm smart enough never to yell at my wife, particularly about something so easily corrected, but we both watch that and know how true the entire scene is. Great reactions from Barkin, too.
And Alex, I think your point in [4] is very much an intentional subtext of the film.
"Do you ever get the feeling that there's something going on that we don't know about?"
"Mathis or Sinatra?"
"You gonna eat that?"
Love this movie, and the Baltimore trilogy (Tin Men, Avalon). Levinson is also the man who gave us Baseball fans The Natural.
I like Tin Men too. But Avalon is too sappy and preachy for me.
Beth shoulda put the record back where the got it :)
I haven't seen this movie in years. I started checking out his work after Homicide Life on the Streets
i'm not a movie guy, so i have no clue what this is, but i really enjoyed that scene. and, yeah, i can relate to it perfectly! i have a rather *massive* music collection and (for the most part), it's alphabetical/chronological.
i generally have always dated musician girls, so they "get it", but they're never as persnickety as me, so this exact issue has come up before! but, like cliff, i never yelled. : )
I could talk about Diner forever. One of my favorites.
How I knew things were going to be tough with my step father. He saw it and hated it. Said, "It's just a bunch of jerks sitting around wasting time."
Oy.
[11] "My daughter's marrying a layabout!" Oy, indeed.
[7] I agree that Avalon is sappy, but it gives you the vibe of racial perceptions through the eyes of early teens. Civil rights and race relations were top of mind in 60's Baltimore.
Here's a good piece about 60s Baltimore...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1079136/index.htm