Singles (1992) * * *

Directed by:  Cameron Crowe

Starring:   Campbell Scott, Bridget Fonda, Matt Dillon, Kyra Sedgwick, Eddie Vedder, Jim True, Sheila Kelley, Bill Pullman

Cameron Crowe's Singles focuses on relationships between Seattle twenty-somethings and was filmed just as the city's grunge scene was gaining national prominence.    There is no mention of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, mostly because Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder plays Matt Dillon's band mate in this film.   The music and the clubs add color, but the issues the people face happen everywhere.    We can surely see parts of ourselves in the various characters which populate Singles; characters looking for love and even some validation of themselves during an unsure time in their lives. 

Singles' main relationship is between Seattle professionals Steve (Scott) and Linda (Sedgwick).    They meet shortly after painful breakups with others and are hesitant to show their true feelings to each other.    Instead, they play games of one-upmanship which lead to insecurity and worry.    They make it a point to wait a few days before calling each other so as not to appear to eager, or heaven forbid interested in a relationship.     The initial courtship is one big power play.    Maybe that adds to the excitement. 

The other relationship detailed in Singles is between barista Janet (Fonda) and local grunge musician Cliff (Dillon).     Janet is openly in love with Cliff, while Cliff openly has little regard for her.    Their feelings are obvious and not shrouded in power plays and mystery.    Janet blames herself for not being able to keep Cliff interested.     She even inquires about breast enhancement.    Cliff keeps Janet at arm's length because, despite local critics' reviews to the contrary, he sees himself as a future rock superstar who will have women fawning all over him.    Why get tied down to Janet?
He is pushing thirty, and a little long in the tooth to be prancing on local stages dreaming of mainstream success.   Just don't tell him that. 

Linda and Steve eventually let their guards down, but more complications arise which test their newfound love.      Janet learns to finally let go of Cliff, while Cliff soon realizes Janet was the best girlfriend he could ever hope for, but now it's too late.    Singles moves along with smart dialogue and sympathetic people.    We care for them and want them to be happy, even the clueless Cliff.     Some of the people follow an unwritten relationship playbook as a way to avoid being hurt.    Others jump headlong into love heedless of the risks, not afraid to put themselves out there, be rejected, and then put themselves out there again.    A mutual friend of both couples (Kelley) is single and hopeful to the point of creating promotional videos of herself to prospective mates.

The actors are smart and make us care.    Crowe's writing takes on a real feel to it.   The dialogue isn't written to be quotable, but carry a certain truth we can all recognize.    In the grungy nightclubs in which the booze flows and people body surf (remember that?), Singles reassures us that the old-fashioned ways of love still survive.