Cinemavore -- 'Diner'

"Who do you make out to? Sinatra or Mathis?"

If you can answer this question, I applaud you. If not, there's a good chance you haven't seen one of the greatest buddy films of all time, 1982's "Diner."

This column generally focuses on cult films and lost gems. Normally I wouldn't cover something with an outstanding cast and an Oscar nomination for the script, but I think most people have forgotten about "Diner," if they've ever seen it at all.

It takes place around Christmas 1959 in Baltimore, a time long gone and a place far from home for us Northwesterners. Yet when you watch it, you see how you could update the clothes and music and be talking about a group of friends in any era. And that's what I love about it.

The cast includes Mickey Rourke in truly his finest role. He's a ladies' man, works in a salon and is always looking for easy money. Trust-fund kid Kevin Bacon is brilliant but lacks ambition. Steve Guttenberg is on the verge of getting married if his fiancee can pass an oral football test. (Girls, how many of you would even consider this today?) Timothy Daly just wants to do the right thing, he thinks. Paul Reiser is a twerp in this film and always will be in my book.

And then there's Daniel Stern, who is married to Ellen Barkin. Their relationship is intriguing yet difficult to watch at times. Stern's character, Shrevie, protects his wife in front of the guys but really isn't the best husband. At the beginning, when one of his friends swears in front of Barkin's character, Beth, Shrevie politely tells him it isn't cool. But when Beth doesn't put away his records in the correct order, he belittles her for not caring as much as he does.

For the guys reading this, it's a great reminder of the friendships we have today and the bonds we shared in the past. For the women, it's an opportunity to dive into the male psyche and see what we talk about, what we think about and what we hold near and dear.

When I watch this film, I find myself wondering which character I am most like. The interesting thing is that over the past 20 years, that character has changed. I think we can all find bits of ourselves in each one of the characters on screen. We've known someone like each of them as well. Maybe not the exact character, but a piece of what they represent.

One of my favorite exchanges comes between Rourke's character and a friend of his father. The older man says, "Always a dreamer." To which he replies: "If you don't have good dreams, you got nightmares."

So get your buddies together at your favorite watering hole (probably not the diner), eat your favorite food (probably not fries and gravy), and see who they remind you of. Trust me, you'll appreciate it.

And to answer the question: Mathis.

* Ryan Messer has worked for years in local television and theater. He has contributed movie trivia to the On magazine Facebook page and displays a knowledge of cinema arcana that is just short of disturbing.