Singles (DVD, 1999)

Cameron Crowe was right on with this film in the early 90s. Companionship seems to be the hardest thing to get if you've got burned before. The older you get, the harder it is to really get to the point of trying anymore. These are the themes obviously explored in Cameron Crowe's early movie Singles, which revolve around the love lives of singles (naturally) living in a common apartment. We follow each of the protagonist Steve (Campbell Scott), Janet (Bridget Fonda), Cliff (Matt Dillon) and Linda (Kyra Sedgwick) through their ups and downs in dealing with love.

Well, not quite. As we know early in the film, each have problems and their own peculiar viewpoints on the dating scene. We see Linda meeting and breaking up with a Spanish student she was so into, after seeing through his lies and sweet talk. It hurts, and she doesn't want to be hurt again. Steve too have had a bad experience, and (I can identify with this) swears off relationships for the next few years, deciding instead to focus on career. As Fate would have had it, these two will meet at the unlikeliest places and get into a relationship.

Cliff, an aspiring rocker, seems to take his girlfriend Janet (Bridget Fonda) for granted. And I think this is something that most people can identify with. When efforts go unappreciated, or when things go mundane, the question is, do you want to bail out? And when you do, what next? Would you give the ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend another chance? If you do, how would you approach it? It's fun watching a movie that was made 18 years ago, and you wonder about how the initiating and sustaining of a relationship back then happened without the same technology we take for granted today. Cellphones were just coming on the scene and answering machines were the only kind of messaging system. Speed Dating was not heard of yet, however video dating was big.

You wonder too about the career of the leads. Campbell Scott was noticed by many after his pairing with Julia Roberts in the movie Dying Young, but after this, seemed to have vanished into obscurity. And so has Kyra Sedgwick. Only Matt Dillon and Bridget Fonda are still around, somewhere.

Oh, the music. Peppered throughout the movie is the wonderful musical tracks that always seem to punctuate a particular moment succinctly. Music seems to be extremely important to setting the mood for Crowe's films. "Singles" has excellent ballads blended with grunge. Pearl Jam was starting to just get popular about this time and appeared in the film as well.

It's a beautiful, quirky little movie with excellent identifiable dialogue, music, humor, and a younger cast of stars whom we know today, thrown into situations that everyone in love would have experienced. There are many cameos in this film including Tim Burton and Pearl Jam band members.

I'm going to give this film a 4/5 for it's wonderful collage of characters.

IF YOU HAVE LIKE MY REVIEWS, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO LET ME KNOW BY VOTING. THANKS!

I had this DVD stuck on my shelf for almost 5 years. I just watched it once, right after my purchase. Today I decided to choose one of my movies to revisit and this was my choice. I forgot how pleasant and entertaining this movie is.

"Singles" is a romantic comedy movie with the sound of Seattle rock scene of the 90's running in the background. Basically, this movie approaches the concept of love and relationships as it is for quite a long time. While some still appreciate relationships the old-fashioned way (sending flowers, calling the next day, being romantic and kind), others are more inclined to take things casually, in a more laid down way, without too much of a commitment. When couples (Linda/Steve and Janet/Cliff) that have each respective partner acting one of the both ways, it's hard to keep up and work things out and that's what the movie shows. Both couples split due to these differences and stay away from each other for a while, until they realize that they miss each other, and that is worth changing a little just to be with the one you really love.

As for the production, it's just fine for a romantic comedy. I miss those early 90s years, when Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden (whose members show up in the movie) used to be the soundtrack of my teenager years. I watched this movie without an eye blink or a pause and it is definitely worth your time and money. Very enjoyable. I deeply regret to have forgotten that I had this movie and that I left the DVD in the back of my shelf. Now, it is positioned in a much more privileged spot.

Love this film!!!!! The infancy of the grunge scene..set in Seattle...cool love story, amazing music performed by Alice and Chains.....Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam plays one of Matt Dillon's band members. Matt Dillon is hillarious as the simple minded, grunge singer that Bridgette Fonda falls in love with. Kyra Sedewick and Campbell Scott are awesome. This movie is funny and touching and set in Seattle!!! I moved there shortly after it was made...hmmm.....so cool.

If you like Reality-bites-type movies than this one should work for you. For teens in the '90s this was a classic. Featuring many musicians from the Seattle music scene in the 1990's, including, Chris Cornell and Soundgarden, Many members of Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains. The soundtrack is also very good if you like these same bands. Young and grungy, it's full of mingled lovestories.

I had to buy this movie because it has a hilarious surprise appearance by Chris Cornell. I'm not referring to the scene where he performs singing in the club (although that was amusing too). There is a scene where Matt Dillon's character is attempting to win back his girlfriend (Bridget Fonda) by pimping out her crappy car with subwoofers in the trunk. The whole car basically blows up, and the expression on Chris Cornell's face is priceless. He doesn't even have any dialogue. He just wanders out of the apartment in the background, bobs his head to the music, makes a face, and then disappears just as you realize that it really is him! I wonder if Chris even remembers his bit part in this movie. It seems totally random. Does anyone else (Soundgarden fans!) remember this scene, or is it just me?