Diner

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Diner

R

1982

1h 50m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

51 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Billy (Timothy Daly) returns home to Baltimore to serve as the best man at his upcoming wedding of his childhood buddy Eddie (Steve Guttenberg). In the meantime, he and Eddie get together with their friends at the local diner, where they trade stories about their lives. All they really want to do is go back to being the carefree boys they once were, but they know it cannot be. Their funny and at times revealing exchanges help each other face the mounting responsibility of adulthood.

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Critics Consensus

Diner transports audiences back to the 1950s with a refreshing lack of sentimentality, evoking the thrill of everyday life with its ensemble's potent chemistry and an authentic sense of spontaneity.

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Max Weiss

Baltimore Magazine

12/08/2023

I think it’s time to forgive Diner for being a product of its time and embrace it as the coming-of-age masterpiece it truly is.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

09/18/2023

Levinson never allows us to think that we know everything there is to know about these characters... Levinson doesn’t violate his characters by summing them up -- he understands that we never fully understand anybody.

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Robert Osborne

The Hollywood Reporter

04/04/2022

All in all, Diner is a worthwhile dish, certainly the best thing Leo the Lion has had to roar about in some time.

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

3d

5/10

It's a Levinson comedy-drama that gets pretty boring when it turns into an exercise in episodic conversations about adult everyday life, as flat as the surface of a restaurant table. [Full review in Spanish]

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 7

The ensemble of its as yet little-known cast is a joy to watch.

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Chance Solem-Pfeifer

Willamette Week

Sep 19

Never did the decade of peak “men were men” get a clearer retroactive treatment of men being overgrown boys than Barry Levinson’s Diner.

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Vincent S

@Vin_E_At_The_Movies Mar 31

This might be a nostalgia piece, but it is much more. This is one of the best and most perceptive movies about boys starting to become men. The future stars highlighted here all give heartfelt, amazing performances. Mickey Rourke is sexy and incredibly cool AND intense. The other actors give standout performances, and we can see why they became major figures in Hollywood. The recreation of 1959, the music, cars and spot on realistic dialogue all make this a low-key masterpiece of comedy and heartfelt drama.

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Richard T.

@RT07749638 Mar 26

Relationships authentic and relatable.

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4everblue

@4everblue22 Jan 24

Long and boring, I think they were going for some kind of 60s Northern version of American Graffiti, if so they failed.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Jul 23

Funny in 1 hour and 50 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Stephen L

@RT02285025 03/15/2025

"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.

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 11/25/2024

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.

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Barry Levinson

Director

Steve Guttenberg

Edward "Eddie" Simmons

Mickey Rourke

Robert "Boogie" Sheftell

Kevin Bacon

Timothy Fenwick Jr.

Tim Daly

William "Billy" Howard

Ellen Barkin

Beth Schreiber

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Synopsis

Billy (Timothy Daly) returns home to Baltimore to serve as the best man at his upcoming wedding of his childhood buddy Eddie (Steve Guttenberg). In the meantime, he and Eddie get together with their friends at the local diner, where they trade stories about their lives. All they really want to do is go back to being the carefree boys they once were, but they know it cannot be. Their funny and at times revealing exchanges help each other face the mounting responsibility of adulthood.

Director: Barry Levinson
Producer: Jerry Weintraub
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, SLM Production Group
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 2, 1982, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2008
Runtime: 1h 50m