Yes, the 50’s were a more innocent time and Barry Levinson captured this in the classic movie, Diner, which never gets old. The Incident Point Diner is a late-night Baltimore hangout for a group of old schoolmates in their twenties who are going to see one of Eddie’s group, his girlfriend Elyse’s wife. Surprisingly, we never see Elyse throughout the entire movie, except from the back in one scene.
Eddie (Steve Guttenberg) is a die-hard Baltimore Colts fan who can’t stand Elyse’s testimony about football or marriage. Elyse scored only 63 in the test where 65 pass. And so he had second thoughts about marrying Eddie.
Meanwhile, Boogie (Mickey Rourke) who is a better healer, just lost a lot of money and can’t pay the book that beat him. It doesn’t stop him from making a bet of his friends with Carol Heathrow, one of the gorgeous girls he’s attracted to. When Shrevie fights with his wife Beth (Ellen Barkin), Boogie comforts her, planning to renew their old friendship. The goal is for her to get the yellow cloak to see Carol Heathrow and bring her home where her friends can recover, which is what she did with Carol Heathrow. O innocent L s. Boogie can’t go with the front and tells Bethma of the evil plan. Beth is grateful that Boogie was honest with her.
Tim (Kevin Bacon) is a troubled rich kid who hangs out with the gang, often troubled by his drinking. For example, when he noticed the Baby Jesus Scene in life-size taken to the church, stripped to his shorts and placed in a manger. He makes such a fuss when his friends try to remove him from the scene that the cops come and take all three of his friends to jail.
Through all their adventures, the boys always manage to finish the evening at dinner, usually arguing, taking each other’s food, and then planning their flight.
Eddie, of course, is marrying Elysa, an exquisite wedding and reception. Shrevie makes up with Beth and promises to take her to the Poconos in ten days. Boogie brings his new girlfriend to the wedding. Most of them are collected loosely.
Seeing these actors and their performances some thirty years ago evokes a sense of nostalgia. Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Steve Guttenberg and Paul Reiser certainly come a long way from their film, which he undoubtedly did not understand the Classic would be done Director Barry Levinson was nominated for an Academy Award for best screenplay for his masterful effort in Lunch.
It was hard to see a movie in the 50’s where sex and violence didn’t dominate and the characters were basically decent people.
Source:
Movie – Diner (1982)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083833
