Singles

Quirky romcom with the backdrop of the early 90's grunge scene

Two 20-something couples and others explore life & love during the advent of the grunge scene in Seattle. Dillon's character is the only one musically involved in the scene, as the vocalist of the band Citizen Dick. The two couples are played by Campbell Scott & Kyra Sedgwick and Bridget Fonda & Dillon while other cast members include Sheila Kelley and Bill Pullman.

Although "Singles" was released in September 1992 it was actually shot in March-May, 1991, a full half a year before the explosion of grunge music with the success of Nirvana's NEVERMIND. Writer/director Cameron Crowe originally wrote the script in 1984 with the setting of Phoenix in mind but rewrote it six years later inspired by how the burgeoning Seattle grunge community came together after the death of Mother Love Bone's singer in March, 1990.

The flick is a little reminiscent of 2001's "Rock Star," but the latter is better IMHO simply because it focuses more on the music scene than romantic relationships. Not to mention the style of music in "Rock Star" is metal, which is preferable in my book (although Alice In Chain's song performed live for this movie definitely smacks of metal).

The very title "Singles" tips off that this is a romcom focusing on dating. As such, if you favor dating movies you'll probably like "Singles," even if you don't particularly like grunge. Speaking of which, the soundtrack includes cuts by grunge luminaries Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Alice In Chains, Mother Love Bone, Jane's Addiction, Smashing Pumpkins and Screaming Trees, amongst others. In fact, quite a few grunge stars have cameos, such as Chris Cornell, Layne Staley, Eddie Vedder and Kim Thayil.

The film runs 1 hour, 39 minutes, and was shot in Seattle.

GRADE: B-

I don't understand the hate for this, it's a nice little rom-com. I think the big deal was that they tried to make it Gen-X and, for the most part, it got rejected because commercial film, and I get that, I don't understand it because it was still done well, but I get it... it's a Rom-Com, it's supposed to be that way. If they casted Meg Ryan you can complain more.

Had it been released in the 80s it would have played, and they not tried to focus on grunge, it would have been better received.

The focus is really all over the place and that is part of the charm. And probably also why it was rejected, but the ensemble cast works. Bridget Fonda is adorable, probably the most relatable in the cast, but it does manage the "I know people like that" characters, and the "I've done that" scenes that makes it relatable across the cast. Cliff, for example, Matt Dillon's character, you knew someone like that in your twenties. "If I make this basked, I should call him," everyone's done that over something.

So it has marks for relatability, it has marks for a well done ensemble. It does what Romantic Comedies should do, they just needed to bring all the characters into the apartment complex to really pull it off better.