Writer-director Barry Levinson has made some truly amazing films. While "Diner" was one of his breakout films and helped make him famous, I found myself hating the movie...and I know it puts me in the vast minority. I think it was made worse by having just watched his film "Avalon"...one of the sweetest and most wonderful films I've seen recently.

"Diner" is a film set in Baltimore like so many other Levinson films. It consists of many small stories of various guy patrons of a local diner and features a truly amazing cast who do a fine job acting. However, here is my problem with the film...nearly ALL of the guys in the film are jerks. Some are just thoughtless...some are complete jerks with no redeeming qualities. And, after an hour or so, I found my attention waning simply because either I didn't care about them OR I really hated them as they were low-lifes. All in all, an unpleasant group of guys who made me wonder why I was even watching the film after a while. Well made, but for me, a complete waste of time.

It actually is not about food - it is about how men grow up .. or do they? There is a case to be made about boys never really (or rarely) grow up to be men. And with a cast that is quite astonishing ... with themes that at least still to this day seem ageless ... while technology and other things do advance, there is a universal truth about issues most of us face while growing up.

Tough to say if in decades from now this looks like something that people can not connect anymore. Or not to the degree we think they are able to ... Back to the cast and not just Steve Guttenberg surprising me or a young Kevin Bacon (with a hint to the Friday franchise and Ketchup?),but even more so with a young rebel by the name of Mickey Rourke. I almost did not recognize him. But there are also some very fine female performers in this, the movie overall does focus on the male outlook though. Then again issues with OCD or something similar are not gender related of course ... even if it again mostly is put on the male cast here.

A good movie for anyone who likes movies about ... something or nothing in particular other than life and choices and relationships ... with some amazing performances to say the least.

For whatever reason in recent years, "Diner" seems to have been overshadowed by a disturbing cloud of obscurity. While it is a film that received great acclaim for those who have seen it, and from my point of view it is a guaranteed audience pleaser, not too many people seem to know of this 80's gem. Essentially, "Diner" is a film in the same vein as "American Graffiti" and "Dead Poets Society", except the characters are a bit older and are now forced to reckon with the frightening forces of reality. While it is a hilarious and witty comedy, "Diner" is also a powerful portrait of a group of old friends now struggling to adjust to adulthood and societal expectations. Concepts such a marriage and maturity are now at last taking their dramatic grasp upon this group of charmers who are now facing challenges they never thought were possible.

Dealing frankly with relationships, sexuality, stress, and the sometimes scary idea of "settling down" with a wife, job, and kids, "Diner" is a brilliant peek into the lives of a group of witty and entertaining friends as their age unexpectedly increases, forcing the task of adulthood to begin, truly affecting their lives with storms of conflict and confusion.