the world". For her portrayal of May Welland, the fiancée of Newland Archer (Day-Lewis), Ryder won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and received Academy Award and BAFTA award nominations as well. Although not a commercial success, the Age of Innocence received critical praise upon its release in October 1993. Vincent Canby in the New York Times wrote; "Ms Ryder is wonderful as this sweet young thing who's hard as nails, as much out of ignorance as of self-interest." Ryder next starred alongside Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Antonio Banderas, and Glenn Close in the melodrama The House of the Spirits (1993), based on Isabel Allende's novel. Also released in October 1993, the film was poorly reviewed and a box office flop, grossing just $6 million on its $40 million budget. Roger Ebert wrote that Ryder ”seems an unlikely casting choice but she is more convincing, with more abandon and passion, and she makes her character work." Ryder was next set to star in Broken Dreams with actor River Phoenix. The project was put on hold due to his death on October 31, 1993. In 1993, Ryder also appeared on the music video "Without a Trace" by Soul Asylum, whose member David Pirner was her boyfriend at the time. Ryder's next film, the Generation X drama Reality Bites (1994), marked a departure from period films. Directed by Ben Stiller and co-starring Ethan Hawke, the film featured Ryder as a recent college graduate searching for direction in her life. According to Hawke and Stiller, the film only got greenlit due to Ryder's star status. Her performance received acclaim but the film did not meet its studio’s expectations in the box office. Ryder returned to period films later that year, appearing as Josephine March in Little Women, an adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel. The film received widespread praise; critic Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that the film was the greatest adaptation of the novel, and remarked on Ryder's performance: "Ms. Ryder, whose banner year also includes a fine comic performance in "Reality Bites, plays Jo with spark and confidence. Her spirited presence gives the film an appealing linchpin, and she plays the self-proclaimed 'man of the family' with just the right staunchness." Ryder received her second Best Actress Oscar nomination for the role. In 1994, Ryder also made a guest appearance in The Simpsons episode "Lisa's Rival"