1992 film by Cameron Crowe
Singles
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by
| Cameron Crowe
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Written by
| Cameron Crowe
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Produced by
| - Cameron Crowe
- Richard Hashimoto
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Starring
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Cinematography
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Edited by
| Richard Chew
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Music by
| Paul Westerberg
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Distributed by
| Warner Bros.
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Release date
|
- September 18, 1992
(
1992-09-18
)
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Running time
| 99 minutes
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Country
| United States
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Language
| English
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Budget
| $9 million
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Box office
| $18.5 million
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Singles
is a 1992 American
romantic comedy
film written, co-produced, and directed by
Cameron Crowe
, and starring
Bridget Fonda
,
Campbell Scott
,
Kyra Sedgwick
, and
Matt Dillon
. It features appearances from several musicians prominent in the early 1990s
grunge
movement in Seattle.
The film was distributed by
Warner Bros.
and released theatrically on September 18, 1992 to generally positive reviews from critics and moderate box office success, grossing over $18 million.
Plot
[
edit
]
Singles
centers on the precarious romantic lives of a group of early
Gen X'ers
in
Seattle
,
Washington
at the height of the 1990s
grunge
phenomenon. Most of the characters dwell in an apartment block, a sign in front of which advertises "Singles" (single bedroom apartments) for rent. Divided into chapters, the film focuses on the course of two couples' rocky romances, as well as the love lives of their friends and associates.
The film revolves around Janet Livermore, a coffee-bar waitress fawning over Cliff Poncier, an aspiring yet slightly aloof grunge rock musician of the fictional grunge/rock band Citizen Dick; Linda Powell and Steve Dunne, a couple wavering on whether to commit to each other; Debbie Hunt, trying to find Mr. Right.
Cast
[
edit
]
Eddie Vedder
,
Stone Gossard
and
Jeff Ament
play the band members of Citizen Dick. There are appearances from
Alice in Chains
and
Soundgarden
, as well as cameos by film director
Tim Burton
and basketball player
Xavier McDaniel
as himself.
Paul Giamatti
appears in a minor role.
Johnny Depp
was offered the role of Steve Dunne but declined.
[1]
Production
[
edit
]
Filming began on March 11, 1991. Principal photography wrapped on May 24, 1991.
[2]
The film was shot at a number of locations around Seattle and includes scenes at
Gas Works Park
,
Capitol Hill
,
Jimi Hendrix
's original grave at
Greenwood Memorial Park
in
Renton
, the
Pike Place Market
and the
Virginia Inn
.
[3]
The central coffee shop featured in the film is the now-closed
OK Hotel
. The apartment building is located on the northwest corner of the intersection of E. Thomas St & 19th Ave E. (1820 E. Thomas St.). Additional concert footage was shot in the now-defunct RKCNDY bar.
Alice in Chains
' concert was filmed at the Desoto nightclub.
[4]
Also,
Soundgarden
makes an appearance in the film.
Most of Matt Dillon's wardrobe in the movie actually belonged to
Pearl Jam
bassist Jeff Ament.
[5]
During the making of the film, Ament produced a list of song titles for the fictional band, Citizen Dick. Chris Cornell took it as a challenge to write songs for the film using those titles, and "
Spoonman
" was one of them. An early
acoustic
version of the song was created and can be heard in the background during a scene of the film. Citizen Dick's song "Touch Me, I'm Dick" is a parody of the song "
Touch Me, I'm Sick
" by the Seattle band
Mudhoney
. On the inside cover photo of the
soundtrack
, there is a Citizen Dick CD with the track listing on the CD itself. One of the songs is called "Louder Than Larry (Steiner)", a wordplay on the Soundgarden album,
Louder Than Love
.
Reception
[
edit
]
Singles
holds a 79% critical approval rating on the review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
based on 52 reviews with an
average rating
of 6.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Smart, funny, and engagingly scruffy,
Singles
is a clear-eyed look at modern romance that doubles as a credible grunge-era time capsule".
[6]
Roger Ebert
of
The Chicago Sun-Times
was complimentary, giving
Singles
three out of four stars and declaring it "is not a great cutting-edge movie, and parts of it may be too whimsical and disorganized for audiences raised on cause-and-effect plots. But I found myself smiling a lot during the movie, sometimes with amusement, sometimes with recognition. It's easy to like these characters, and care about them."
[7]
Tim Appelo wrote in
Entertainment Weekly
, "With ... an ambling, naturalistic style, Crowe captures the eccentric appeal of a town where espresso carts sprout on every corner and kids in ratty flannel shirts can cut records that make them millionaires."
[8]
Meanwhile, Seattle's
The Stranger
was less kind to Crowe's use of the local background, reviewing "he's relying on the general hipness of our little burg and on the star power of a few local musicians/bit actors to make a bundle of dough, and he hasn't bothered to back them up with anything worth remembering.
Pleasant
is about the only word I can think of to describe the thing."
[9]
Warner Bros. Television
immediately tried to turn
Singles
into a
television series
. Crowe claims that
Singles
inspired the television series
Friends
.
[10]
On July 5, 2015,
Derek Erdman
held a public screening of the movie in the courtyard of Capitol Hill's Coryell Court Apartments?the building in which some of the main characters live.
[11]
The event was attended by over 1,000 people. Despite initial concerns by the landlord, the event progressed smoothly. The crowd was respectful and cleaned up after themselves. Reports of
Bridget Fonda
being in attendance were false. It was actually her aunt,
Jane Fonda
.
[12]
The film is recognized by
American Film Institute
in these lists:
Soundtrack
[
edit
]
The
Singles
soundtrack
was released on June 30, 1992, through
Epic Records
and became a best seller three months before the release of the film. The soundtrack included music from key bands from the Seattle music scene of the time, such as
Alice in Chains
,
Pearl Jam
, and
Soundgarden
. Pearl Jam performed two previously-unreleased songs on the soundtrack: "
Breath
" and "
State of Love and Trust
". The Soundgarden song "Birth Ritual" and
Chris Cornell
's solo song "Seasons" appear on the soundtrack.
Paul Westerberg
of
The Replacements
contributed two songs to the soundtrack and provided the score for the film.
The Smashing Pumpkins
also contributed to the soundtrack with the song "
Drown
".
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Chacksfield, Marc (March 12, 2012).
"Cameron Crowe On Cusack, Cruise and Zoos"
.
ShortList
. Retrieved
October 8,
2021
.
- ^
Crowe, Cameron (October 1, 1992).
"Making the Scene: A Filmmaker's Diary by Cameron Crowe"
.
Rolling Stone
.
Archived
from the original on August 19, 2017
. Retrieved
March 3,
2018
.
- ^
Daniel DeMay (September 18, 2019).
"
'Singles': Where did it happen in Seattle?"
.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
.
- ^
"Singles (1992)"
.
American Film Institute
. October 1, 1992
. Retrieved
March 3,
2018
.
- ^
Hajari, Nisid.
"Northwestern Exposure"
.
Entertainment Weekly
. March 5, 1993.
- ^
"Singles Movie Reviews, Pictures"
.
Rotten Tomatoes
. Retrieved
October 16,
2023
.
- ^
"Singles movie review & film summary (1992) | Roger Ebert"
.
- ^
Appelo, Tim.
"Seattle Night Fever"
.
Entertainment Weekly
. September 18, 1992, p. 46.
- ^
Cook, Matt (September 23, 1992). "Down in Front: Before and After Matrimony".
The Stranger
.
- ^
DeRogatis, Jim.
"As Crowe flies"
.
Chicago Sun-Times
. September 3, 2000.
- ^
"Seattle News and Events - 1000 People to Watch 'Singles' on a Single"
.
Seattle Weekly
. Retrieved
July 6,
2015
.
- ^
"Seattle News and Events - 1000 People to Watch 'Singles' on a Single"
.
Seattle Weekly
. Retrieved
May 19,
2016
.
- ^
"AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions Nominees"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
August 19,
2016
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Director
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Writer only
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Producer only
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Television
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Adaptations
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