American Graffiti

This is the ground-breaking work by George Lucas, loosely based on his friends and his experiences as a teenager living in the San Joaquin Valley at the beginning of the 1960s, a time of gentle naiveté and innocence. There are no words to describe the edgy sweetness and humor that permeates this ensemble story of friends and enemies, jocks, brains, and punks maneuvering through the stultifying heat of the last weekend of summer vacation, 1962.

American Graffiti is a comedy, a drama, a tragedy, a musical, and a reminder of what small-town America once was, a mere forty years ago. From its breezy humor to its excruciating last moments (I remember theater-goers stunned in their seats, sobbing after the credits were done), Lucas's first major hit hits home. American Graffiti is pure magic.

The summer of 1962, for these four Youths, it's the closest they will ever get to the Garden of Eden. The music, the cars, the drinking, the dancing, and the innocence, American Graffiti is a harder film to make than Star Wars. To identify with the generation and to create truth from the characters, George Lucas's masterpiece is American Graffiti. From the town Big shot, the future Race car Driver, the Perfect Couple, and the local Nerd, it is amazing how the audience identifies with all these characters from out past. Like a page out of the high school year book, this movie jumps back into the early 60's, before the war, before the lines were drawn, the age of innocence in America would soon be coming to an end. This is the last party of the summer before the dream finally ends.

"I just love it when guys peel out." -Debbie Dunham

American Graffiti is the best film about teenagers. It actually has a point, unlike the other teenage films where all that they do is get drunk and party. American Graffiti is about different types of teenagers doing different things on the last night that they all have together in 1962 after graduating. They all actually learn about themselves and what they want to do with their lives. One of the older

teenagers, Curt, is planning on leaving the next day. Steve is trying to work out his relationship with Curt's sister, while John and Terry have their own dates for the night. American Graffiti is a wonderful film on many levels. It is both funny and serious. A great direction by George Lucas and a fine cast with Ron

Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Cindy Williams, Paul LeMat, Charles Martin Smith,

Candy Clark (Oscar-nominated), MacKenzie Phillips, Harrison Ford. One of the

best films of the 70's and the only teen film in my memory that has had the

pleasure of being nominated for Oscar- Best Picture. 10/10 stars.

While born three years after the events in the film, I could still relate to the plight of being a teenager on the threshold to adult life. I think it takes a pretty insensitive person not to be captivated by this excellent movie (boring? - because just one car blew up, or what?!). This was the 3rd or 4th time I saw it, and it is just getting better. It is unusual to see filmmaking of this caliber coming from Hollywood (not least when considering Lucas' latest offering - blech!), but like movies like "The Year My Voice Broke" and "My Life as a Dog", "American Graffiti" tells us something about where we came from, without being dull or preachy. ***½ out of ****

Whether you love this movie or not, you have to admire this movie for two reasons. First, its return on the dollar was among the best ever for any film. While the budget was a very modest $777,777.111 (no kidding), it returned $115,000,000 in the United States alone! No wonder this film made George Lucas famous. Second, it was very innovative. While I was not a huge fan of the film's style, it was unique and sure had an impact on the world as well as future films. No one had made a film like this before--chock full of one song after another blaring across the soundtrack and its odd semi-structureless plot was also quite unique.

The film concerns a bunch of young adults just hanging out and cruising. There really isn't a lot more to it than that. Sure, their stories all reveal a bit about them through the course of the film, but most of the characters have no great depth. It's more like you are a voyeur watching some likable and not especially likable kids doing...well...nothing. Now if you grew up in the early 60s and remember all this, then it's a great stroll down memory lane. If you didn't, I think the movie will be more of a tough sell, as the nostalgia angle is non-existent. As for me, I wasn't even born until 1964, so the nostalgia aspect was less--but I loved the music and great cars. My daughter, while less impressed about EVERYTHING did grudgingly say that the music was great. She also said that she pretty much ignored the plot and just listened to the songs! And, perhaps, this is pretty typical of a person from her generation. As for me, the film was mildly interesting and I respect it--though I did not love it. This isn't really meant as a criticism--just a statement about how this film appealed to this 47 year-old guy. For the right audience, it's the perfect film. Otherwise, you might feels it's all a bit overrated.

Aside from the nostalgia for the early 60s, the movie also is quite interesting when seen today because so many future stars and super-stars are in it--mostly when they were young unknowns. Ron Howard (a child star but not all that popular yet as an adult), Cindy Williams, Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfus, Charles Martin Smith, Mackenzie Phillips and Suzanne Somers all appear in the film.