Diner

Writer-director Barry Levinson's autobiographical first feature fondly remembers his Baltimore youth. It's late 1959, and six guys in their early twenties are stumbling into adulthood, alternating responsibility with carefree time at their local diner. The story centers on the return from college ...more

This talk-heavy comedy, set in 1950s Baltimore, marked Barry Levinson's directorial debut. Filled with excellent dialogue (the screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award) and star-making performances, the largely-unknown-at-the-time cast includes Kevin Bacon, Daniel Stern, Mickey Rourke, Paul Reiser, and Ellen Barkin (it marked the big screen debuts of the latter two performers). The rampant immaturity of the male quintet of friends is amusingly lampooned in Levinson's clever and cutting ...more