Singles [VHS] [1992]: Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick, Sheila Kelley, Jim True-Frost, Matt Dillon, Bill Pullman, James LeGros, Devon Raymond, Camilo Gallardo, Ally Walker, Eric Stoltz, Tak Fujimoto, Cameron Crowe, Art Linson, Kelly Curtis, Richard Chew, Richard Hashimoto: Amazon.co.uk: Video

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Writer/Director Cameron Crowe's affable twentysomething romantic comedy is less a tale of tortured love than a prescient portrait of a culture on the cusp of Generation X--that is Seattle, circa 1991. One-time Rolling Stone journalist Crowe, ever aware of pop trends, lovingly details a society newly beguiled by slackers, answerphones, self-analysis, the coffee-house fetish, post-AIDS safe sex and, most importantly, grunge music--Smashing Pumpkins, Mudhoney and Jane's Addiction pepper the soundtrack, while various Pearl Jam players cameo as members of the film's fictional grunge wannabes Citizen Dick.

In the midst of all this sits a cosy residential apartment block, a perfect setting for the emotional crises of on-again, off-again, on-again couples Steve and Linda (Campbell Scott and Kyra Sedgwick) and Cliff and Janet (Matt Dillon and Bridget Fonda). Steve is a sensitive transport engineer whose game-playing backfires when he meets Linda, an environmental activist with a fear of rejection. Cliff is a feckless rock musician, and front man for Citizen Dick, whose inability to commit to Janet is forcing her to take desperate measures. Will the couples split? Will they reunite? And will they learn a little something about life, maturity and commitment along the way? As you'd expect from the man behind the cutesy teen classic Say Anything (his directorial debut), Crowe's relationship resolutions are often simplistic and sentimental ("You rock my world!" and "You belong to me!" are two such vocal denouements). And this, combined with a rambling narrative often makes the movie feel longer than its 95 minutes (an inter-title announcing "The Theory of Eternal Dating" sums it up). Nonetheless, there's enough wit, comic digression and tap-along gaiety elsewhere to make Singles an enjoyably slight romantic placebo. --Kevin Maher

Synopsis

A rising rock 'n' roll star concentrating on his career breaks off with his current girlfriend only to find himself falling for someone else.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sign of the times, 1 Feb 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Singles [DVD] [1993] (DVD)

As one reviewer here points out, this film is something that you really have to loved at the time as, as is pointed out, it is centred completely around the grunge scene which at that time was prevalent around the world, but especially the American heartlands.

A film that really hit the heartbeat of the time (albeit a sugar coated heartbeat - and what's wrong with that?!), the film achieved a great level of interest before being released on account of the fact that Pearl Jam all cameoed in it - well it was of great interest to me! Of course, once you start to watch the film it's obvious there's a hell of lot more to it than just watching some rock legends smirking around the background.

With great lead performances, although possibly with Campbell Scott playing a little too 'wet', the film is put together so beautifully that time literally flies. The gorgeous Bridget Fonda is, well, gorgeous and the one liners and - by now trademark - directorial flourishes all provide evidence that massively belies the mediocre box office performance of the film at the time.

It's very easy to look at the film after watching Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky and then working back, but this film was when Cameron Crowe was still more rock journalist than movie director and his palpable love of the environment and scene of that time, the capturing of a zeitgeist on film showcases a slightly rawer, possibly more excited director.

If you haven't seen it, it's certainly worth a look to see where a lot of today's 'quirky rom-coms' got their inspiration from.

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Welcome DVD Release For An Under-Rated Movie, 29 Dec 2002

By	Gareth Jones - See all my reviews

This review is from: Singles [DVD] [1993] (DVD)

Singles is one of my all-time favourite films and I have been waiting for its DVD release for nearly 2 years. At last, it's here!
I first saw the movie as a 15 year old grunge fan back in 1992. Knowing nothing about the storyline, I was only interested in the soundtrack (which features tracks from Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains). However, the film as a whole was fantastic and I've watched it endless times since!
The movie tells the story of 4 twentysomethings and their complicated love lives (with each other!) There isn't one main plot as such, more a series of short stories which work together to give one big picture. These stories are split up into named sections and each one moves the film forward. This way of telling the story reminds me a lot of Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex...But Were Afraid To Ask. It is not at all as complicated as it sounds (unlike the characters lives), and is a fresh approach to storytelling.
Singles is Cameron Crowe's second film in the director's seat.The styles used in his later films (Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky etc) are perfected in this movie and his choice of songs on the soundtrack mirror the storyline perfectly - something he did again later in Almost Famous. Crowe is clearly a music lover (indeed, he was once a writer for Rolling Stone) and rather than use songs that are just popular at the time, he chose a number of tracks that had a lyrical relationship with the storyline. I really don't think that Singles would be as good a film without the stunning soundtrack (and I don't even like grunge anymore!).
I can't find one thing wrong with this film. The cast (featuring Bridget Fonda and a long-haired Matt Dillon) is superb and the script is faultless. If you enjoyed Crowe's later films, you would definitely enjoy Singles. If you are an original fan of grunge, or have just discovered it 10 years on, you will also enjoy spotting the cameo appearances from Eddie Vedder amongst others.
As you can tell, I love this film and I believe that if you give it a try, you will also be hooked.
With a trailer and deleted scenes, this DVD is a bargain... so snap it up today!!

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Have fun...Stay single!, 8 Jan 2006

By	Ni (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Singles [DVD] [1993] (DVD)

This is one of those really rare movies that however much you watch it, it never seems to lose its touch. Although a movie mostly focused on the ups and downs of relationships, there are very strong 'Grunge' undertones throughout, which admittedly is the first thing that caught my attention. The budding Seattle music scene is captured explosively alongside the on/off relationships of residents of a small Seattle apartment block. Appearances by Alice In Chains and Soundgarden in the popular neighbourhood club, members of Pearl Jam guest starring as Matt Dillon’s unsuccessful band, and an incredible interspersed soundtrack of songs by Mother Love Bone, Screaming Trees, Pearl Jam and Chris Cornell really helps set up the early 90's atmosphere in Seattle.
The romantic aspect of this movie is actually rather subtle, despite the focus on relationships, and it ends up being a rather comical portrait of hopeless single people trying to survive the shark tank that is dating. It covers very real modern day issues like women seeking surgical enhancements to win over their desired guy, how the loss of a baby can affect a seemingly strong relationship and the incredibly real hardships and trust issues that arise from a cheating partner.
Despite these hardships, the characters are fun and you can really start to feel for them as they struggle to maintain their sanity. Cliff is the budding rock star who can’t settle down, Janet is his neighbour in a tenuous relationship with the hopeful musician, Steve is a relatively conservative guy who meets the girl of his dreams in a club and Linda is the recently scarred girl of his dreams, looking for trust. Watching their lives intertwine is an enjoyable experience and manages to not be too heavy on the romantic side.
The music dates this movie to the early 90’s, but it’s an era which to this day, is still one of the most prominent in music history, and definitely one of the best. It’s a fairly unconventional dating movie, with a great edge, and based on the soundtrack alone, is worth a watch.