A Little Bit Softer Now. . .

If the only decent thing Barry Levinson ever directed was Diner (1982) -- and it is -- that would be enough. Not only is the movie an enthralled valentine to a moment on the cusp of the 60s, it was also made on a cusp: right before the LucasBerg/MTV/Reagan era would begin, and destroy everything.

What a stable of unknowns: Reiser, Barkin, Stern, Guttenberg, Bacon, Tim Daly, Michael Tucker, the lovely Kathryn Dowling, Rourke. And not a pose or attitude in sight. . .