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Diner (1982)
In writer/director Barry Levinson's period comedy film,
the classic episodic rites-of-passage film of the late 50s centered
around a Baltimore, Maryland diner (Fells Point):
- many of the scenes at the 1959 Fells Point Diner
between a group of six post high-school graduate male friends -
and their many fast-paced, late night, often mindless discussions
(with overlapping dialogue)
- the scene of Modell's (Paul Reiser) and Eddie's intensely
passionate debate about the best make-out music (Frank Sinatra or
Johnny Mathis) with the blunt answer from Eddie:
"Mathis"; "Shrevie" couldn't answer: "I'm
married. We don't make out"; later when "Boogie" was
asked the same question by Eddie, he gave a quick reply: "Presley!"
- the diner argument scene in which annoying, wise-cracking
Modell eyed an exasperated Eddie's roast-beef sandwich: ("You
gonna finish that?") but "Shrevie" was the one who
grabbed half of the sandwich and ended up taking a bite out of it
- the scene at Eddie's bachelor party when William "Billy" Howard
(Tim Daly) suggested: "Are we gonna pick up the beat?!"),
and took a place at the piano to increase the tempo, as Eddie joined
the stripper (with a boa) on stage
- the scene of a pre-nuptial 140 question trivia test
(65 was passing) about the Baltimore Colts pro football team required
by virginal momma's boy and football fanatic Edward "Eddie" Simmons
(Steve Guttenberg) for his off-screen fiancee Elyse just before the
wedding in a few days - friends and family members gathered around
the basement to keep score where he grilled her; and when it was
over, Eddie announced solemnly: "The marriage is off!"
- Earl Mager's (Mark Margolis) attempt to eat "the
whole left side of the menu"; Earl answered in the affirmative
when asked if his challenge included the fried chicken dinner; Eddie
and Modell were astonished: "Twenty-two deluxe sandwiches and
the fried-chicken dinner! It's not human. He's not a person. He's
like a building with feet. You know what I mean? It's unbelievable";
afterwards, Earl drove off in his small Nash Metropolitan
- the set-piece joke in a movie theatre of scheming,
hustling, indebted Robert "Boogie" Sheftell's (Mickey Rourke)
macho movie-theatre wager with his friends that he could entice a
girl on a first date to a certain level of intimacy ("Do ya
wanna bet that she goes for my pecker - first thing?") - executed
with the creative use of a popcorn box with blonde date Carol Heathrow
(Colette Blonigan) when he stuck his privates into the bottom of
the box to fool her into touching his "pecker"
Boogie's (Mickey Rourke) 'Pecker' in Popcorn Box
Trick
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- Timothy "Fen" Fenwick Jr.'s (Kevin Bacon)
drunk destruction and desecration of the city's Nativity scene
- the "Don't Touch My Records" scene between
a married couple - a neglected and under-appreciated Beth (Ellen
Barkin in her screen debut) and exasperated music-obsessed Laurence
'Shrevie' Schreiber (Daniel Stern) when he asked: "Have you
been playing my records?"; he complained about her improper
filing of one of his treasured records according to category, alphabet,
and year - she had placed a James Brown record filed under the J's
instead of the B's for Blues ("To top it off, he's in the rock
n roll section instead of the R&B section - how can you do it?");
he also went further and criticized her lack of knowledge about Charlie
Parker (yelling: "Jazz, jazz! He was the greatest jazz saxophone
player that ever played!"); 'Shrevie' became fanatical: "Every
one of my records means something - the label, the producer, the
year it was made, who was copying whose styles...who's expanding
on that, don't you understand? When I listen to my records they take
me back to certain points in my life, OK? Just don't touch my records,
ever!"; she was left with tears welling up in her eyes
Wedding Bouquet on Table in Front of Group
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- in the concluding scene at Eddie's and bride Elyse's
wedding, she tossed her wedding bouquet into the air - it landed
on the table in front of the Diner guys; then, during the end credits,
the guys were heard talking at the diner - again
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(l to r): Eddie (Steve Guttenberg) and 'Shrevie' (Daniel
Stern)
(l to r): Fenwick (Kevin Bacon) and Modell (Paul Reiser)
Result of Football Trivia Quiz: "The marriage
is off!"
Earl's Attempt to Eat All Items on Left Side of
Menu
Eddie's Bachelor Party - Dancing with Stripper
'Shrevie' Complaining to Wife Beth About His Precious,
Mixed Up and Miscategorized LP Record Collection
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