History Film / Singles

* BrickJoke: Cliff is telling the story of the guy Debbie has finally hooked up with while delivering her flowers from him. After he delivers them, he mentions he has to sneak into Debbie's apartment and spell her name out in rose petals. He then looks up and sees Janet, who's broken up with him but whom he still pines for. A few scenes later, Janet comes home to find Cliff has spelled out a message for her in rose petals. Doubles as an IronicEcho.

* FiveSecondForeshadowing: When Linda and Steve are driving, Steve looks at the intersection they're approaching and says "That light's green way too long". Then they get hit by a truck, leading to Linda miscarrying.

* HumiliationConga: Steve gets denied the chance to work on his dream project, loses his job, his girlfriend, his potential child, and his office cubicle collapses around him.

* DiscoDan: Although temporally not that far removed from the fashion's origin, Debbie's mid-80's look is so radically different from the grunge/alt-rock aesthetic that all the other characters embrace that she stands out even more than if she had dressed like she was from the 60's or 70's.

* DiscoDan: Although temporally not that far removed from the fashion's origin, Debbie's early 80's look is so radically different from the grunge/alt-rock aesthetic that all the other characters embrace that she stands out even more than if she had dressed like she was from the 60's or 70's.

** Citizen Dick's single, "Touch Me, I'm Dick" is an homage to "Touch Me, I'm Sick" by another one of Seattle's grunge pioneers, Mudhoney.

Steve Dunne (Campbell Scott) meets Linda Powell (Creator/KyraSedgwick) at a club, and they hit it off. The ups and downs of their relationship are contrasted with those of Steve's friend (and ex-girlfriend) Janet Livermore (Creator/BridgetFonda), who is increasingly frustrated with how aloof her boyfriend Cliff Poncier (Creator/MattDillon), the leader of a proto-grunge band called "Citizen Dick", acts towards her. With some running threads about other friends, the film shows the ups and downs of relationships for Generation X in the pre-dot-com era.

A 1992 ensemble romantic comedy written and directed by Creator/CameronCrowe and set in UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, ''Singles'' is a loving [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece time capsule]] of the city's alternative/grunge scene of the early '90s.

* AsHimself: The members of Music/PearlJam are themselves, except as the backup for Cliff's band Citizen Dick rather than as Pearl Jam.

* TheCameo: Basketball player Xavier [=McDaniels=], in what may be the movie's [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments most hilarious line]]. Also cameos from various grunge personalities, including all the members of Music/PearlJam, Music/{{Alice in Chains}}, [[Music/{{Soundgarden}} Chris Cornell]], Tad Doyle and Bruce Pavitt, as well as Creator/PaulGiamatti and a rare on-screen appearance from Creator/TimBurton.
** CreatorCameo: Creator/CameronCrowe plays a journalist interviewing Cliff. Doubles as an AuthorAllusion, as Crowe started out as a journalist for ''Magazine/RollingStone''.

* WakingNonSequitur: Bubverted; when Linda is trying to wake up after the car crash she and Steve get into, the first words she says have to do with [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation Xavier [=McDaniel=] and James Worthy]], whom she and Steve were discussing before the crash.

Steve Dunne (Campbell Scott) meets Linda Powell (Creator/KyraSedgwick) at a club, and they hit it off. The ups and downs of their relationship are contrasted with those of Steve's friend (and ex-girlfriend) Janet Livermore (Bridget Fonda), who is increasingly frustrated with how aloof her boyfriend Cliff Poncier (Creator/MattDillon), the leader of a proto-grunge band called "Citizen Dick", acts towards her. With some running threads about other friends, the film shows the ups and downs of relationships for Generation X in the pre-dot-com era.

Steve Dunne (Campbell Scott) meets Linda Powell (Creator/KyraSedgwick) at a club, and they hit it off. The ups and downs of their relationship are contrasted with those of Steve's friend (and ex-girlfriend) Janet Livermore (Bridget Fonda), who is increasingly frustrated with how aloof her boyfriend Cliff Poncier (Matt Dillon), the leader of a proto-grunge band called "Citizen Dick", acts towards her. With some running threads about other friends, the film shows the ups and downs of relationships for Generation X in the pre-dot-com era.