MovieChat Forums > Diner (1982) Discussion > A movie about 'nothing'

A movie about 'nothing'

posted 15 years ago by SarahKatherine247
4 replies | jump to latest

I can see some similarities between Diner and Seinfeld. Although Barry Levinson and Larry David each drew from their own lives, perhaps David was subconsciously inspired by Levinson like Elaine Benes was by the comic strip Ziggy.

The diner, obviously.

Silly conversations concerning word play. Diner with "nuance" and Seinfeld with George talking about "manure" on a date with a waitress from Monk's Diner.

The various girlfriends in and out of the guys' lives.

The over-attentive focus on trivial matters: Diner with the football trivia and Seinfeld with the red-dot cashmire sweater, the nose-picking, the perfect way to order from the Soup Nazi, etc.

Seinfeld is my favorite TV show of all time. Diner was very good, not quite great. Eddie was a dick for making Elyse take that quiz (I am a dude saying this), but hey, it was set in 1959 and it's only a movie, so I took it with a grain of salt. I guess I expected a little more from Diner, but it did its job.

[–] djhennessey2000 13 years ago

It's a comedy, overplaying some things. The dad taking credit for one of the questions reminds me of my own father quizzing my girlfriend (now wife of 24 years) on all my cousins and aunts and uncles names. She had to identify them all from pictures in a family photo album (27 first cousins, 5 sets of aunts and uncles)before he'd allow her to attend my cousin Bobby's wedding. If she failed, I imagine Dad would have been like Eddie put the test results aside/

[–] intexor 12 years ago

I follow your point. Except I do like Seinfeld because of how it exploits the nothingness while this movie mostly bored me.

[–] GreenInkBrigade 12 years ago

Regarding the football quiz, remember this was set in Baltimore in 1959. Only one year earlier, the Baltimore Colts had beaten the New York Giants for the NFL championship in a game that is even today considered by many to be the greatest game ever played.

Baltimore was football-crazy in those days. Back then, it was not unusual for players to play for the same team for their entire careers. They became part of the cities for which they played. They lived there - even in the off season. The Colts weren't just the local team, they were local guys who hung out in local bars and restaurants, did charity work in town, and had off-season jobs in town.

A football quiz from a Baltimore fan in 1959 sounds about right.

[–] PussyCrusher_Principal 9 years ago

A piece of trivia - Elaine Benes is from Baltimore (remember the Orioles cap at the Yankees game?)