Set in 1959, Diner shows how five young men resist their adulthood and seek refuge in their beloved Diner. The mundane, childish, and titillating details of their lives are shared. But the golden moments pass, and the men shoulder their responsibilities, leaving the Diner behind.
Nominated for 1 Oscar. 3 wins & 6 nominations total
Top Critics Reviews
fresh:
Levinson's dialogue feels fresh and improvised, yet it hits its mark every time, and the performances he gets are complex and original.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
2 Jun 2014
fresh:
The film is wonderfully cast and played.
– Richard Corliss,
TIME Magazine,
2 Jun 2014
rotten:
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.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
26 Jun 2008
fresh:
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.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
26 Jan 2006
fresh:
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.