Diner Information

Diner is a 1982 comedy-drama film written and directed by Barry Levinson. Levinson's screen directing debut, Diner is the first in his "Baltimore films" which, in addition, include the subsequent Tin Men (1987), Avalon (1990) and Liberty Heights (1999).

Plot

Set in Baltimore, Maryland, during the last week of 1959, Diner tells the story of a circle of male friendsnow in their early twentieswho reunite for the wedding of one of their group. The title refers to the diner that was located at Reisterstown Road and Rogers Avenue, Baltimore, their late-night hangouta diner in Fells Point, Baltimore was used for location shooting. An element of the story includes the Baltimore Colts winning the 1959 NFL Championship Game. The semi-autobiographical film explores the changing relationships among these friends as they become adults through what is mostly a series of vignettes rather than a traditional narrative. Levinson encouraged improvisation among his cast to capture naturalistic camaraderie.

Cast

• Steve Guttenberg as Edward "Eddie" Simmons
• Daniel Stern as Laurence "Shrevie" Schreiber
• Mickey Rourke as Robert "Boogie" Sheftell
• Kevin Bacon as Timothy "Fen" Fenwick Jr.
• Tim Daly as William "Billy" Howard
• Ellen Barkin as Shrevie's wife, Beth Schreiber
• Paul Reiser as Modell
• Kathryn Dowling as Barbara
• Michael Tucker as Bagel
• Jessica James as Eddie's mom, Mrs Simmons
• Colette Blonigan as Carol Heathrow
• Kelle Kipp as Diane
• Clement Fowler as Eddie's dad, Mr Simmons
• Claudia Cron as Jane Chisholm

This was the first credited feature film role for Daly, Barkin and Reiser.

Adaptations

The film inspired a 1983 CBS television pilot written and directed by Levinson. Mike Binder starred as Eddie, Paul Reiser returned as Modell, Michael Madsen took over as Boogie and James Spader was Fenwick.

A stage musical, with the book by Levinson and music by Sheryl Crow is being prepared, with plans for a Broadway opening in Spring 2013. Kathleen Marshall is the director and choreographer. A "creative workshop" reading was held in December 2011, directed by Kathleen Marshall. A previously announced premiere at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco in October 2012 to November 2012 was cancelled. Instead, the musical will have a staged workshop in New York and then is expected to open on Broadway on April 10, 2013. The producer said, "the producers and creative team of 'Diner' embarked on an exploratory exercise to determine if the show would play as effectively in a theatre with a capacity no larger than 1,100 seats, for which there is greater opportunity. Holding themselves to uncompromising standards they happily discovered that their answer was 'yes.'"

Crew

• Costume Design: Gloria Gresham

Reception

The film maintains a 96 percent score at Rotten Tomatoes. It was ranked No. 57 by the American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Laughs list. Levinson also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.