A group of recent college graduates tries to figure out what adulthood is supposed to look like when nobody has much money, their careers aren’t going according to plan, and their relationships are even more confusing. At the center is a young filmmaker caught between two very different men and two very different ideas of what success might mean. It’s cynical, romantic, funny, and practically soaked in early 90s Generation X anxiety. Next week we’re reviewing a movie about friendship, selling out, falling in love, and realizing that adulthood might mostly consist of trying to pay your bills without becoming someone you hate.

Commissioned by: Sydney K. • 9/13/26

• Year: 1994
• Budget: About $11.5 million
• Box Office: About $33 million worldwide
• Awards: No major awards
• Fun Facts: The movie marked the feature directing debut of Ben Stiller, who also appears in the film alongside Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke. Screenwriter Helen Childress began writing the screenplay while still in film school. The soundtrack became a major part of the movie’s identity, with Lisa Loeb’s “Stay (I Missed You)” becoming a number one hit. Although its theatrical performance was modest, the film became one of the defining pop culture snapshots of Generation X.