The movie is a lively, poignant tale of group of college-age buddies trying to recapture their lost innocence in 1959 Baltimore two days before one of them's scheduled wedding. As 1960 approaches, they collectively deal with how to be truly adults.
For all his painstaking accuracy, Levinson has also concocted a dark and depressing period story devoid of a single person without a major problem or character flaw.
All the performances are remarkable. Rourke won't stay unknown for long. But the ultimate triumph is Levinson's. He captures both the surface and the soul of an era with candor and precision.
The male quintet of friends is amusingly lampooned in Levinson's clever and cutting script, a refreshingly honest depiction of an era often bathed in sepia-toned nostalgia.
This gentle, warm-hearted comedy drama about a group of young men in 1950s Baltimore was director Barry Levinson's debut feature and it remains among his finest work.
Movies like Diner -- fresh, well-acted and energetic American movies by new directors with the courage of their convictions -- are an endangered species.
Film4
June 02, 2014
Though nothing much happens this is a skilfully written comedy-drama that plays close attention to character and boasts fine performances by a quality cast.
Not a lot to it, but the sense of period is acute, the script witty without falling into the crude pitfalls that beset other adolescent comedies, and the performances are spot-on.
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.
