last night's movie was Singles (1992)! and i really, really liked it!
like most people outside of Seattle, all i knew about this movie going in was that it was the 'grunge romcom'. now hearing that, i immediately had a mental picture of what the movie was going to be: people trying to scratch out a living while also trying to find time for love and happiness. and while i was wrong about some aspects, i still really enjoyed the movie. Singles is a movie that starts slow and not on it's best foot, but over time it really gets into a groove and the sweetness of all it's characters really begins to rub off on you. despite the 90's being a decade of everything being soaked in a soup of irony lest anyone be sincere, Singles is achingly sincere. it truly, utterly believes in the power not just of love, but of the power of being alone as well.
and without the fantastic performances of its cast to back up it's charming screenplay, the movie would be nothing. thankfully, we have Bridget Fonda as the passionate-yet-in-denial waitress Janet Livermore who is head over heels in love with aspiring-yet-dimwitted grunge rocker Cliff Poncier (Matt Dillon), who is the lead signer of fictional band Citizen Dick (with Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard!). the other two main performances that carry the movie are Campbell Scott as Steve Dunne, the romantic who always seems to say the right thing who desperately desires the heart of Linda Powell (Kyra Sedgwick), who is afraid to commit to something after being deeply hurt by a past love. every single one of these characters are believable, charming and, most importantly, have depth. they grow and change as the movie goes on, learning things about themselves in a way that feels genuine and authentic. the surrounding characters that live amongst the main cast in the housing complex also feel totally fleshed out and understandable, with Sheila Kelley turning in a fantastic role in Debbie Hunt, the desperate TV broadcaster who won't settle for anyone but Mr. Right. and we need to talk about the incredible cameos in this. we have three members of Pearl Jam as mentioned above, but also Chris Cornell from Soundgarden, Tim Burton, Tad Doyle from Tad, Paul Giamatti and probably more then i could point out. it really adds to the authenticity of the Seattle story in a way that dosen't feel forced.
the movie is also shockingly beautiful. with cinematography duties being shared between Tak Fujimoto (Silence of the Lambs) and Ueli Steiger (Frankenweenie), Singles is often extremely beautiful. there's one sequence where the camera lingers on a park bench beside the smelting factory with the bright blue skies and green grass next to the cold steel and metal that is absolutely breathtaking. this is more of an art director thing, but i also loved how all the principal character's have extremely lovingly detailed spaces that really give the viewer a feeling of who they are before they even utter a word. the movie is never plain in it's aesthetic, and is often very playful and bright, even when the Seattle rains inevitably come down.
the real coup of the movie is the music and soundtrack. so some backstory: Singles was filmed in 1991 and was shelved by WB because they didn't understand what to do with it. this movie about people in love in the midst of some tiny local music scene? who cares, right? then Nevermind dropped. and WB suddenly became extremely interested in the movie and rushed out the soundtrack three months ahead of time, which exploded in popularity and topped the charts at FTL speeds. this is all thanks to the forward thinking not just of Cameron Crowe, who had become disgusted at the transactional and parasitic nature of LA and moved to Seattle, but of Crowe's then-fiance and Seattle rocker chick Nancy Wilson from Heart. Nancy was the one who introduced a lot of these amazing acts to Cameron and history followed. and on that soundtrack i speak of in such hushed reverence? two exclusive new Pearl Jam tracks. Alice In Chains contributed the emotional and heavy Would? months before their magnum opus Dirt hit, along with a cut from Facelift. Chris Cornell would help out on the score both solo (he wrote and performed the Citizen Dick tracks) and with Soundgarden, who also had an exclusive track. Cornell would also be inspired by the movie to write Spoonman. pre-Siamese Dream Smashing Pumpkins had an never before heard track on the score. add on Mudhoney, Screaming Trees and Paul Westerberg (formerly of The Replacements), who all show up in the movie (with Paul credited as the main composer) and on the soundtrack. on top of this, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden both perform live in the movie. it's difficult to overstate how much Singles helped cement the 'Seattle Sound'/Grunge sound in the popular consciousness. this movie was huge not just for people who love romcoms, but for the people who worship at the altar of Kurt Cobain, and both completely ate this movie and soundtrack up. and the movie uses all of these songs and artists in extremely careful ways to enhance the story and support the themes and the overall setting in incredible ways. i can't think of a movie that was more important to the culture of a sound then how Singles became part of the grunge scene from the core.
finally, the story. while Singles isn't exactly telling an intense and deep story, it's more then up to the job of what it sets out to do. like i mentioned above, a lot of the story revolves around not just how love can change someone for the better, but also how being alone can make someone better too. this was, and still is, somewhat heretical in the genre, as rarely do romcoms end with protagonists alone and happier. yet the movie pulls it off, even if sometimes it stumbles a bit in the beginning. here's the setup: in early 90's Seattle, Linda Powell has finally found herself in charge of her own destiny away from home and living in a duplex. excited, yet vulnerable, she ventures out into the city and meets Luiz (Camilo Gallardo), a Spanish student whose visa is about to expire in a handful of days. Linda falls completely in love with him and the feelings appear to be reciprocated. in the short amount of time, Linda gives Luiz everything, and after a tearful goodbye Luiz prepares to leave when Linda hands him a garage door opener, signifying her desire for them to live together when he returns. after Luiz finally leaves to go back to Spain, Linda and her friend Ruth (Devon Raymond) go out to a club to drink and dance away the sadness, only for Linda to see 'Luiz' at the bar. sadly, Linda has been had and she cries her soul out to Ruth before going to buy a new garage door opener. Washington rain soaked love-lost-and-gained-and-lost hijinks ensue.
i really, really, really ended up liking this movie. it sits up there with Slacker in the way that it's a movie that is completely and utterly in love with it's world in a way that you can't help but go along with. sincerity is undervalued, especially in 90's media, and if you are one of those souls looking for love or are happily with another, Singles will give you what you want in spades. highly recommended.
