Word: balthazar
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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There are signs, though, that the occasion may be collapsing, or at least sagging, under the weight of its own hyperbole. Many of New York City's trendiest eateries have decided to opt out entirely. Gramercy Tavern, Balthazar, Vong and Tabla, for instance, will all close for NYE-Y2K. And according to a poll conducted by National Family Opinion Research, a majority of Americans are planning to spend this New Year's Eve with their family at home...
Folding his sunglasses on the table in front of him at Balthazar (still the trendiest restaurant in New York City--he hopes, apologizing for the brunch crowd that "couldn't get in at night"), McInerney rebuts the accusation that his life-style has hurt his prose. "There are a lot of people writing about quiet contemplative lives in the Midwest, a lot of people writing about academia and plenty of people writing about the suburbs," he says. "If I taught college in the Midwest, would I be a better writer? Would the world be a better place...
...Zeitgeist this time. Sure, he's missed the facts that restaurants have replaced clubs, that ostentatious wealth is being spent inside the home and that even for most celebrities, late-night partying has ceased to be cool. And, yes, it is a little sad when the hostess at Balthazar doesn't even know how to pronounce his last name. But why use a sledgehammer? Somebody's got to chronicle what's going on with the druggies and clubbers...
...plot, which cunningly loops itself like a Mobius strip with sprocket holes, starts with a couple, Fred (Bill Pullman) and Renee (Patricia Arquette), troubled about intrusions into their home and their private lives. Renee vanishes, and the film changes lanes. It follows Pete (Balthazar Getty), a grease monkey who dumps his girlfriend (Natasha Gregson Wagner) and takes up with a gangster (Robert Loggia) and his moll. Damned if this new femme fatale doesn't look exactly like Renee, but with platinum blond hair...
...anything, the actual story is compelling. A group of extremely handsome teen-aged boys (Jeremy Sisto, Balthazar Getty, and Scott Wolf, among others) go on a voyage from the Caribbean to the Galapagos and back on a boat manned by cool teachers (John Savage and Caroline Goodall) and a studly, charismatic captain (Jeff Bridges). While learning discipline and the finer points of ocean sailing, they also study their ABCs. And of course, they discover friendship, sex and alcohol. Unfortunately, disaster ensues. A freak storm sinks the boat, killing four, and the coast guard blames the father figure. You can guess...