This film follows the lives of several 20-something working professionals in New York City in the early 80s as they pursue their careers and variable romantic attachments. The lack of a strong plot is largely compensated for by superb performances, rich dialogue and well-drawn characters.
Having seen this film all the way back when I was still in high school and now seeing it again more than twenty years later, I have a pretty different take on it. Obviously when I was 17, most of the film's concepts of young adulthood flew way over my head. But years later, I understand the characters and their personalities so so so much better that I can't help but marvel at how well this film holds up. Behaviors and quirks stand out to me so much better now.
In some ways, life for young single people in NYC has not changed. In others, it has changed dramatically. The wide-eyed belief in an innumerable possibilities, the endless buffet of choices and yet the cock-eyed arrogance that you know everything you need to know when you're only in your 20s. In terms of the quality of life, the desperate need for roommates to counteract a woefully low salary at an entry level job is still a fact of life, perhaps even more so today. The grittiness of the club scene is one thing that feels a bit quaint in this film. Even in my youth, the more inclusive nature of the club scene began to disappear and to give way to more exclusive venues where ironically the white collar professionals would fit right in and others would not. In the period that is portrayed here, the NYC nightlife scene might as well be in another country because it was before hip hop came along and radically altered how young people interacted.
But one thing that rings eternal is young people exploring as many options as they can before they eventually gravitate toward their natural preferences and become real adults. In that regard, this is still quite an insightful film to watch, as the characters who are narcissistic and capricious tend to go one direction while those who are mild-mannered and unselfish tend to go in another. It's exciting to watch when you're bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and then alternately amusing and nostalgia-inducing when you're my age. Gladly recommended to anyone approaching adulthood or already there.
Having seen this film all the way back when I was still in high school and now seeing it again more than twenty years later, I have a pretty different take on it. Obviously when I was 17, most of the film's concepts of young adulthood flew way over my head. But years later, I understand the characters and their personalities so so so much better that I can't help but marvel at how well this film holds up. Behaviors and quirks stand out to me so much better now.
In some ways, life for young single people in NYC has not changed. In others, it has changed dramatically. The wide-eyed belief in an innumerable possibilities, the endless buffet of choices and yet the cock-eyed arrogance that you know everything you need to know when you're only in your 20s. In terms of the quality of life, the desperate need for roommates to counteract a woefully low salary at an entry level job is still a fact of life, perhaps even more so today. The grittiness of the club scene is one thing that feels a bit quaint in this film. Even in my youth, the more inclusive nature of the club scene began to disappear and to give way to more exclusive venues where ironically the white collar professionals would fit right in and others would not. In the period that is portrayed here, the NYC nightlife scene might as well be in another country because it was before hip hop came along and radically altered how young people interacted.
But one thing that rings eternal is young people exploring as many options as they can before they eventually gravitate toward their natural preferences and become real adults. In that regard, this is still quite an insightful film to watch, as the characters who are narcissistic and capricious tend to go one direction while those who are mild-mannered and unselfish tend to go in another. It's exciting to watch when you're bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and then alternately amusing and nostalgia-inducing when you're my age. Gladly recommended to anyone approaching adulthood or already there.