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Reality Bites-The Movie


emirate25

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Was Reality Bites set in Midtown Houston? Can someone tell me more of the scenes of the movie and where in Houston, Texas it takes place. Thanks

yes - and the house winona et al lived in is southeast of downtown (northern montrose) -

a unit in it was up for rent a couple months ago...

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Southeast?

I always thought most of the skyline scenes were shot along Waugh or Dallas or one of those streets Southwest of Downtown?

The housing stock definitely looked like the better parts of the old 4th ward...

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......and the convience store they are in front of and in were filmed at the Cheveron on Washington and Montrose or Washington and Studemont, somewhere in there. I actually was stopped at the light while they were filming and got to see the production for a couple of minutes.

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  • 2 years later...
Was Reality Bites set in Midtown Houston? Can someone tell me more of the scenes of the movie and where in Houston, Texas it takes place. Thanks

The short answer is no, as Midtown didn't really exist then -- it was called 3rd Ward, 4th Ward, and Freedmen's Town. The house was in Montrose. But hey, they're just labels.

The scene on the rooftop was on the roof of Two Shell downtown. I can't remember a whole lot else, but I did see it awhile back and it was fun to see that stuff.

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Was Reality Bites set in Midtown Houston? Can someone tell me more of the scenes of the movie and where in Houston, Texas it takes place. Thanks

As mentioned, the 4-plex house was located at 409 West Clay. Some scenes were filmed in the backyard & front of the house.

There is a scene of Ethan and Winona walking through Tranquillity Park downtown.

They are also on the rooftop of Two Shell downtown.

There is a scene in front of Williams tower(Transco Tower) and in the elevator/lobby area.

There is a scene at the Houston Chronicle. There is also a scene at the Gap in the Galleria.

The gas station scene is possibly filmed at Washington and Studemont(not confirmed).

There is a scene at the ocean...not sure if it is Galveston or California.

Most of the indoor scenes were filmed in California on a set configured like the house.

The restaurant scenes were filmed in a restaurant near Los Angeles.

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As mentioned, the 4-plex house was located at 409 West Clay. Some scenes were filmed in the backyard & front of the house.

There is a scene of Ethan and Winona walking through Tranquillity Park downtown.

They are also on the rooftop of Two Shell downtown.

There is a scene in front of Williams tower(Transco Tower) and in the elevator/lobby area.

There is a scene at the Houston Chronicle. There is also a scene at the Gap in the Galleria.

The gas station scene is possibly filmed at Washington and Studemont(not confirmed).

There is a scene at the ocean...not sure if it is Galveston or California.

Most of the indoor scenes were filmed in California on a set configured like the house.

The restaurant scenes were filmed in a restaurant near Los Angeles.

Wasn't the downtown rooftop from the Americana Building garage?

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As mentioned, the 4-plex house was located at 409 West Clay. Some scenes were filmed in the backyard & front of the house.

There is a scene of Ethan and Winona walking through Tranquillity Park downtown.

They are also on the rooftop of Two Shell downtown.

There is a scene in front of Williams tower(Transco Tower) and in the elevator/lobby area.

There is a scene at the Houston Chronicle. There is also a scene at the Gap in the Galleria.

The gas station scene is possibly filmed at Washington and Studemont(not confirmed).

There is a scene at the ocean...not sure if it is Galveston or California.

Most of the indoor scenes were filmed in California on a set configured like the house.

The restaurant scenes were filmed in a restaurant near Los Angeles.

You, sir (or ma'am) are correct. The above matches exactly my understanding of the movie.

In addition: I think the bar the crew hung out at, on W. Gray, was still called Blythe Spirits at that time.

(Clever name! The owner's name was Blythe; they sold spirits; and Blythe Spirits is the name of a Noel Coward play.)

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
As mentioned, the 4-plex house was located at 409 West Clay.

This film came out during the peak of my "youthful indiscretion" period in Houston.

I loved seeing the occasional landmarks, but was really disappointed that the whole movie wasn't filmed in Houston (the LA shots were pretty obvious). However, anyone not from Houston would probably not know the difference, so it provided a good image of the 20-something culture at the time.

The house featured in the movie was in a location that was not yet popular with the young and single crowd. Located in a prime spot between Montrose and Downtown, the area was primarily populated by low income families. Any updates to what is there today?

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The house featured in the movie was in a location that was not yet popular with the young and single crowd. Located in a prime spot between Montrose and Downtown, the area was primarily populated by low income families. Any updates to what is there today?

There are plenty of four-plexes left, but townhome-itis has been creeping in as well...

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The house featured in the movie was in a location that was not yet popular with the young and single crowd. Located in a prime spot between Montrose and Downtown, the area was primarily populated by low income families.

I knew many young and single people who lived in that neighborhood, starting in the 80s. True, they were a bit more adventurous than the norm (Urban Animals, artists, musicians), and there were still many low-income families in that neighborhood (North Montrose).

It seemed like an appropriate setting to me, given the personalities of the charactors in Reality Bites..

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  • 2 weeks later...
The house featured in the movie was in a location that was not yet popular with the young and single crowd. Located in a prime spot between Montrose and Downtown, the area was primarily populated by low income families. Any updates to what is there today?

The actual house is still there, per streetview - I just watched the move, and she comes out of "409" at the end. It looks virtually unchanged:

409 W Clay

Looks like townhomes have still yet to invade that particular section of Clay

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  • 1 year later...

My tolerance for that movie is inversely proportional to my age. I loved it when it came out. I thought it really spoke to me, man. Now, some sixteen years later, they all sound like a bunch of whiny jagoffs to me. Same thing for Pump Up the Volume.

Aging is a horrible thing. Though, I suppose, it beats the alternative.

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I noticed that as well.

Watching some of the movies that I enjoyed in my youth are now seen with a slightly different set of glasses (with a different prescription, even) and haven't aged well to me.

Yet, when I talk about it to younger people, they absolute enjoy it (16 candles, pretty in pink..etc).

Now I seem to be more partial to even OLDER movies now...30's and 40's. My current age makes me appreciate those movies even more.

I'm only in my 40's! why do I feel like I need to be in a walker??

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My tolerance for that movie is inversely proportional to my age. I loved it when it came out. I thought it really spoke to me, man. Now, some sixteen years later, they all sound like a bunch of whiny jagoffs to me. Same thing for Pump Up the Volume.

Aging is a horrible thing. Though, I suppose, it beats the alternative.

Heh. Completely. Although, after about 10 minutes of vintage Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, or (the absolute worst) Andrew McCarthy, the Great

Dirt Nap might be a relief, they are that annoying to me. Which is funny, because I will still actually pay money to see John

Cusack in a movie, go figure.

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Contemporary Youth Culture is a commercial form of anti-intellectualism orienting adherents to consumerism. The Frontlinepublic affairs television series documentary The Merchants of Cool (2001) describes how the advertising business transformed adolescents’ language, thought, and action (cliques, fashion, fads) into commodities, and thus engendered ageneration of intellectually disengaged Americans uninterested in progressing to adulthood.The US youth subculture originated from the post – Second World War economic prosperity allowing adolescents to work and have a discretionary income — whilst still dependent upon parents. In turn, their economic power allowed business to sell them popularity — an identity as a young person — something that once was not for sale, but self-created; to wit, the British blog writer Paul Graham likened youth culture to an occupation permitting little time for education and intellectual interests.[8]

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  • 3 years later...

Bringing back an old topic, but just saw Reality Bites for the first time on a plane a few days back. The first scene at their apartment my wife said "that's West Clay!"

I knew it was our neighborhood but was surprised she recognized the exact street so quickly considering how much its changed since 94. Pretty cool to watch.

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