Diner

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Diner

R

Released Apr 2, 1982

1h 50m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

49 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Billy (Timothy Daly) returns home to Baltimore to serve as the best man at his upcoming wedding of his childhood buddy Eddie (Steve Guttenberg). In the meantime, he and Eddie get together with their friends at the local diner, where they trade stories about their lives. All they really want to do is go back to being the carefree boys they once were, but they know it cannot be. Their funny and at times revealing exchanges help each other face the mounting responsibility of adulthood.

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Critics Consensus

Diner transports audiences back to the 1950s with a refreshing lack of sentimentality, evoking the thrill of everyday life with its ensemble's potent chemistry and an authentic sense of spontaneity.

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Max Weiss

Baltimore Magazine

I think it’s time to forgive Diner for being a product of its time and embrace it as the coming-of-age masterpiece it truly is.

Dec 8, 2023

Full Review

Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

Levinson never allows us to think that we know everything there is to know about these characters... Levinson doesn’t violate his characters by summing them up -- he understands that we never fully understand anybody.

Sep 18, 2023

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Robert Osborne

The Hollywood Reporter

All in all, Diner is a worthwhile dish, certainly the best thing Leo the Lion has had to roar about in some time.

Apr 4, 2022

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Chance Solem-Pfeifer

Willamette Week

Never did the decade of peak “men were men” get a clearer retroactive treatment of men being overgrown boys than Barry Levinson’s Diner.

Sep 19, 2025

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an easygoing, persistently episodic drama that benefits from the captivating work of its various performers...

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 16, 2023

Full Review

Kyndall Cunningham

The Daily Beast

The little movie that paved the way for Seinfeld (and presumably a bunch of other shows and movies about men talking about nothing) is a hilarious, sharply written romp about a group of male friends approaching different crossroads in their adulthoods.

Dec 5, 2022

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Stephen C

Funny in 1 hour and 50 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/23/25

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Stephen L

"Diner" is a sharp, nostalgic slice-of-life film that thrives on its naturalistic dialogue and effortless ensemble chemistry. Barry Levinson’s debut feature captures the aimlessness of young adulthood with humor and authenticity, weaving together conversations that feel both mundane and profound. The cast, including Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, and Steve Guttenberg, brings a lived-in quality to their roles, making even the most casual exchanges engaging. While its loose structure may not appeal to all, "Diner" remains a witty, well-observed film that helped define the modern hangout movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/15/25

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Leaburn O

I found it a slog to get through. Couldn’t connect with the characters or the dialogue. It was flat and boring. Too many of the characters looked the same, making it hard to follow at times. Watched on DVD.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

11/25/24

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chal b

Definitely a guys movie. This movie is a guilty pleasure! Will always recommend as a great movie!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/13/24

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Tic Toc M

I remember when this came out and having high hopes for it but was totally disappointed. Just tried watching it again and it's just as tedious as I remember it. "American Graffiti" it most definitely is not. Good cast but the writing is annoying and so are the characters. I'd say it hasn't aged well at all, but it was never that great in the first place. By 1982 the whole 50's nostalgia thing was beaten to death, there had been a whole slew of movies in the wake of American Graffiti and this was just another. Levinson did a better movie a few years later called "The Tin Men" that was basically like the older guys at the diner, with Richard Dreyfus and Danny Devito, two of their best performances.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/07/23

Full Review

Dennis S

This film is boring, long winded and pretentious. It tries to be an art house American Graffiti, and fails at every level.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

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Barry Levinson

Director

Steve Guttenberg

Edward "Eddie" Simmons

Mickey Rourke

Robert "Boogie" Sheftell

Kevin Bacon

Timothy Fenwick Jr.

Tim Daly

William "Billy" Howard

Ellen Barkin

Beth Schreiber

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Synopsis

Billy (Timothy Daly) returns home to Baltimore to serve as the best man at his upcoming wedding of his childhood buddy Eddie (Steve Guttenberg). In the meantime, he and Eddie get together with their friends at the local diner, where they trade stories about their lives. All they really want to do is go back to being the carefree boys they once were, but they know it cannot be. Their funny and at times revealing exchanges help each other face the mounting responsibility of adulthood.

Director: Barry Levinson
Producer: Jerry Weintraub
Screenwriter: Barry Levinson
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, SLM Production Group
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 2, 1982, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2008
Runtime: 1h 50m

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