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St Elmo's Fire--90's style, Nov 27 2001
Much hipper and more relevent than TV's Friends even at it's best Crowe puts a new spin on an old formula. The male-female friendship group thing seen in movies like St.Elmo's fire, yet without the brat pack pretension and mugging. The two mainstays Sedgewick and Campbell are people we can relate to and who we would not mind as next door neighbors. Bridget Fonda and Matt Dillon play the good girl after bad boy schtick that Mare Willingham and Rob Lowe parlayed in St. Elmo's yet without excessive boozin' or drugs.
The Debbie girl was a little hard to believe because she seemed a little to self assured to need a video date, but it was good to see them poke a little fun at what is perceived to be a integral part of the 90's genre.
The Crowe movies sure shows a much different Seattle than is true today. almost 10 years ago it was a generation in a town about to make impacts on so many diffent fronts.
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Where were you in '92?, Sep 17 2001
I was playing bass guitar in a rock band that was at least as pretentious yet nowhere near as talented as Matt Dillon's Citizen Dick ("we are HUGE in Belgium AND in Italy") as portrayed in this movie. I had all the answers regarding what constituted "The Perfect Girl" (I might have even come within an ace of getting her at the time), just like Campbell Scott's character must have. Now, of course, I'd settle for someone who would look at me the way Bridget Fonda looks at Matt Dillon in this movie.
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Personal matters aside, this IS the best romantic comedy of the 1990's, if not of all time. It set the standard for the genre (in truth, "Swingers" is really just "Singles" with more expensive clothes and a "mid-'90's trendy" as opposed to an "early-'90's trendy" soundtrack). The "Twentysomething, coffee shop chic" of this movie also translated very well to the small screen to NBC's hit series "Friends", which I understand still does pretty well, though I stopped watching it awhile back.
And in truth the performances really make this movie work. Bridget Fonda in particular is effectively heartbreaking, taking her telephone to the roof (just in case he calls) while sunning herself, even though she's already broken up with the guy whose phone call still doesn't come. Campbell Scott and Kyra Sedgewick attempt to ballroom dance their way through their relationship without ever getting close enough to actually touch, and are faced with a dilemma which is ultimately resolved in an unexpected, painful fashion.
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This is easily Cameron Crowe's most underrated work. It really nails the time period at which it was made, and it flows very well for an ensemble piece. The extra scenes (particularly the French Movie bit) are good, the cameo appearances by members of Pearl Jam (and pre-"Superunknown" Chris Cornell, sporting the Jesus look) are a nice touch, and the soundtrack of course is the best depiction of the music scene as it was being heard at that time on a national basis, although as previously mentioned by some Seattle residents who've reviewed this movie, it was all pretty much over in The Emerald City by the time the movie actually came out.
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In summation, I recommend this movie to all music fans, romantics, and the Thirtysomethings of today who might on occasion wax nostalgic for their earlier, less-anchored days.
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pretty good, Aug 27 2001
I don't know why I liked it. I just did. Its a comftorable kind of movie. its cool to see eddie vedder in this movie. he looks a little confused though. I only wish the movie focused more around Janet and Cliff though. doesn't anyone else think they were the most interesting couple? I don't know, I just think Matt Dillon's character is really funny. this movie makes me want to live in seattle during that time. chris cornell is just walking around like its no big deal and alice in chains are RIGHT there! its crazy. doesn't anyone else know how great those bands are? anyway, thats my review. If I had turned this into my journalism class I would have gotten an F but I think I'm getting my point across.
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Not the Seattle that I remember, but memories abound, Aug 9 2001
Entertaining snapshot of life in early 90's Seattle, when grunge and coffee houses were all the rage. Absent from the film are the angst and rebellion of the era, but this is more of a movie about relationships featuring characters that are easy to identify with and care about due to their self-analytical narratives. Good script and excellent photography making the most of Seattle's rain-ridden setting. Not Cameron Crowe's best but still pretty darn good.
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An epitome of the early-90's Seattle music and social scene, Jun 5 2001
Several years ago when I was very young, I could remember this movie coming out, and the characters reflections of their insecurities involving life and love. To balance this out was a fervent array of great music that portrayed an important period of rock in Seattle. Performance groups like the Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Alice and Chains, and Pearl Jam were just a few that characterized the Seattle music scene in this movie, as well as the intense feeling of this particular genera. With the characters' 20/30-something portrayels of the stresses involving the irony and idiosyncrasies of city-life, this music served as an incredible backround.
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An epitome of the early-90's Seattle music and social scene, Jun 4 2001
Several years ago when I was very young, I could remember this movie coming out, and the characters reflections of their insecurities involving life and love. To balance this out was a fervent array of great music that portrayed an important period of rock in Seattle. Performance groups like the Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Alice and Chains, and Pearl Jam were just a few that characterized the Seattle music scene in this movie, as well as the intense feeling of this particular genera. With the characters' 20/30-something portrayels of the stresses involving the irony and idiosyncrasies of city-life, this music served as an incredible backround.
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A snapshot of the early 90s with a universal theme, Mar 20 2001
I was in college in '92, when the grunge scene really took off, and this movie brings those days back perfectly. Somehow it doesn't seem dated either, like many 80s movies do. It's probably because of the engaging storyline and familar, "hey-that-could-be-me" characters that Cameron Crowe is known for. The Campbell Scott character, Steve (and by the way, where IS Campbell Scott these days?) is like so many of us - obsessed with work, trying to make sense of the whole dating and relationship scene, wishing for simplicity. Bridget Fonda's Janet is anyone who ever woke up from codependency and realized his/her own self-worth. And Kyra Sedgwick's Linda is everyone who ever got their heart broken and put up barriers to protect themselves, only to find that not all people are as bad as you think. Great cast, great setting, incredible soundtrack. The DVD adds some deleted scenes which I think are also on the VHS version, as well as cast bios. Check out cameos by Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam (the musicians in Matt Dillon's band), Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, and a performance by Alice in Chains. And don't miss Jeremy Piven as the checkout guy, and the eldest son from "Malcolm in the Middle" as the young Steve.
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Chasing Popcorn, Mar 12 2001
I'm sure everyone has done some popcorn chasing in their time. "Singles" captures the whole dating scene with such candid brilliance everyone will feel included. There is something in this movie that we all can relate to (if you've ever dated!). My favourite character in the film would have to be Kyra Sedgwick's. Her subtle style of acting in this film gave it a realistic and raw vibe. She was also totally jaded and I applaud her for being such a pill. I also thought the Debbi character was a riot. "Come to where the flavour is"....haha. Of course the music was great too, and it seems like years ago that the grunge scene was here, when plaid flannels ruled the fashion circuit! One other note: One of the funniest scenes was cut out of the movie, but fortunately they included outakes on the vhs version. The scene in the French restaurant was hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!
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I Am Obsessed!, Mar 2 2001
I cannot lie- this is my favorite movie of all time; the visual equivalent of my favorite comfort food or the security blanket of my childhood.Whenever I get stressed out or feeling miserable, especially on a rainy Sunday, I pop this baby in the VCR and settle in. I know that the Seattle grunge rock scene was way over when this movie was released, but Singles definitely presents a gently softened and filtered version of what a lot of artistic (or hoping to be artistic) and driven 20-somethings of the American persuasion go through. Faux grunge scene aside, Crowe effectively captures the "process" of growing up. The acting, of course, is excellent. Everyone nailed their characters perfectly, especially Matt Dillon, Bridget Fonda and Eric Stoltz as "that obnoxious mime." One quibble though- The Campbell Scott and Kyra Sedgwick characters both seem much older, physically and emotionally, than the 25 year olds they're supposed to be.
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JANET YOU ROCK MY WORLD, Feb 18 2001
When this movie was released my friends and I went to see it in the cinema. We were high school students and natives of Seattle, so naturally this take on the "Seattle scene" was pretty funny to us. It seemed kind of strange considering that the Seattle scene was pretty much... over. Or at least the "grunge" thing was kind of over. Honestly I thought this was a really stupid movie then. But in the years since I saw this originally and have seen it again, I realised that the film itself captured a moment, and the performances in the film are genuine, down to earth and very real. I was startled to see Bridget Fonda's performance again because in her I saw so many of the attributes that my own friends had. This searching for a guy (Grunge Ken to their Grunge Barbie thing) and instead of looking for the qualities that make the guy right for them, they thought more in terms of what they could possibly have to offer the guy. Finally, after Janet (Fonda) falls for Cliff (wasn't that Matt Dillon's name in this picture) and finding that he liked her but did not really feel the same way, Janet looks for ways to change herself to please him (including researching breast implants-her own plastic surgeon consult, a brilliant Bill Pullman, tells her to reconsider and makes a pass at her). Eventually Janet comes to see her own value, which I felt was a redeeming point in the movie. She does not have the breast augmentation, and she sees that she wants someone who cares about her; ultimately someone who will say "gesundheit" when she sneezes. After she is over Cliff, he starts to notice her. But she will have nothing of it because she has finally accepted and started to love herself. (Yeah it sounds cheesy, but it is really a powerful thought). Meanwhile another storyline is going on. Campbell Scott is a transportation planner (and believe me, in Seattle they need a serious transportation planner) who meets Kyra Sedgwick. They have an affair of sorts, and Sedgwick's character ends up pregnant. Through an odd series of mishaps, they fall out of touch. It is actually quite a touching story, that of their relationship. Kind of sad, but don't you worry... the story might be about grungers in Seattle, but it does not fail to provide a happy Hollywood ending, but somehow in this film I did not mind. Nice smaller roles were filled by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Sheila Kelley, who until that time was probably most famous for playing Gwen on LA Law, and even the ubiquitous Tom Skerritt, who appears for all of one minute as Seattle's mayor-long enough to say "NO" to Campbell Scott's proposal for the future of transportation.
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