Do you want to see ‘Reality Bites’?

Reality Bites (1994)

tomatometer

All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 44
Fresh: 29 | Rotten: 15

No consensus yet.

Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 10
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 4

No consensus yet.

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 50,816

My Rating

Added to your Facebook Timeline. — undo

Movie Info

Four recent graduates discover how difficult it is to find a decent job and true love after college.

PG-13, 1 hr. 39 min.

Drama, Romance, Comedy

Directed By: Ben Stiller

Written By: Helen Childress

In Theaters: Jun 1, 1993 Wide

On DVD: Jul 21, 1998

MCA Universal Home Video

Reality Bites Trailer & Photos

More Photos (9)

Cast

Winona Ryder
Lelaina Pierce
Ethan Hawke
Troy Dyer
Ben Stiller
Michael Grates
Janeane Garofalo
Vickie Miner
Steve Zahn
Sammy Gray
Swoosie Kurtz
Charlane McGregor
Joe Don Baker
Tom Pierce
John Mahoney
Grant Gubler
Bill Bolender
Truck Driver
Pat Crawford Brown
Cashier
Keith David
Roger
Karen Duffy
Actress "Elaina"
Anne Meara
Louise
Harry O'Reilly
Wes McGregor
Kevin Pollak
Afton Smith
Janine
Amy Stiller
Psychic Phone Partner
Jeanne Tripplehorn
Fashion Show Host (uncr...
Jeff Kahn
Stage Manager
Evan Dando
Actor "Roy"
Andy Dick
Rock
Ren�e Zellweger
Tani
John Walsh
Player #3
David Spade

Critic Reviews for Reality Bites

All Critics (44) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (30) | Rotten (16) | DVD (18)

Although it never became the definitive document of Generation X, Reality Bites is a touchstone for anyone just out of college and stuck with more ideals than job prospects, not to mention a head full of bad-TV trivia.

August 14, 2007 Comment

Peter Travers

Rolling Stone

Top Critic

In 1994, the novelty of seeing a romantic comedy written and directed by, as well as starring, people in their early 20s made for a certain freshness, but after a point this 'youthfulness' consists of little more than TV references.

August 7, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

Reality Bites begins as a promising and eccentric tale of contemporary youth but evolves into a banal love story as predictable as any lush Hollywood affair.

August 7, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Leonard Klady

Variety

Top Critic

Like the generation it presents so appealingly, it doesn't see any point in getting all bent out of shape and overambitious. But it knows how to hang out and have a great time.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Caryn James

New York Times

Top Critic

What unwritten law prevented the makers of Reality Bites from observing that their heroine can't shoot video worth a damn, that their hero is a jerk, and that their villain is the most interesting person in the movie?

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Beneath a thin veneer of style lie buried all the old cliches and formulas of typical romantic comedies.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: ReelViews

| Comment

James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Top Critic

Comedy about 20-something slackers isn't for kids.

January 2, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Joyce Slaton

Common Sense Media

Remember Gen X? This is why you forgot it.

October 12, 2008 Comment

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

A surprisingly sweet romantic comedy debut from Ben Stiller.

May 9, 2008 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine

| Comment

Angie Errigo

Empire Magazine

A romantic heart, caustic wit, and the energy of its fresh cast ensure the film's continued appeal.

May 9, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Billy Mowbray

Film4

It's often genuinely funny -- but it's still an establishment picture pretending it's not.

August 7, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

TV Guide's Movie Guide

Ben Stiller's feature directorial debut is a zeitgeust comedy, whose significance is more sociological than cinematic--It's "The Big Chill" for the twentysomething crowd in the Age of Clinton and AIDS.

January 30, 2007 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

Gen Xers looking for a good time probably found themselves cheated at having been pigeonholed like this and watching the film's fun, ironic beginning give way to goopy pathos.

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid

| Comment

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

There's probably a moderate little romantic comedy crying to get out here, but the film's vain striving for casual hip proves suffocatingly obtrusive.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Trevor Johnston

Time Out

insightful and engaging

November 8, 2004 Comment

Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

Intensely likeable

June 7, 2004 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central

| Comment

Bill Chambers

Film Freak Central

This movie bites. Ben Stiller should stick to acting.

May 22, 2004 Comment

Luke Y. Thompson

New Times

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Reality Bites

View All

Few films from the 90s portrayed the generation grunge and captured the spirit of that time as spot on as this and "Singles". Even today's kids should easily relate to the group of early Twens who dunno where to go with their lives after graduating from college. Their money, love and job issues are the center of

June 14, 2006

Jens S.

Super Reviewer

Ben Stiller's first directing job. This drama/comedy about becoming an adult in/after college is really good. I saw it a while ago, but I remember it was good.

September 6, 2010