The Young Graduates

The early 1970's was on one of the few periods of American cinema where films were often truly anarchic and free-spirited without the morals and the messages or the emphasis on tight, efficient plots. This film is very much a product of its time, but while it may not seem to have much of a purpose or a point by today's standards, it certainly is refreshingly different from a lot of American movies.

Patricia Wymer, who had earlier appeared in "The Babysitter" as the titular (and ass-ular)character who has a sexual affair with the middle-age father of her charge, at first seems to be playing a very similar role here as a high school senior who, right before graduation (and on her eighteenth birthday), has an affair with her handsome but dorky married gym teacher, and thinks she might be pregnant. While in a modern-day film this would result in all kinds sturm und drang, this isn't really what happens here. Instead while she's literally waiting for the rabbit to live or die (pregnancy detection has obviously come a long way), she and a friend decide to escape her problems and the friend's abusive alcoholic father by hitch-hiking to Big Sur to watch their boyfriends (one of whom is Bruno Kirby) drag-race. What follows is kind of a free-spirited "sexy hitchhiker" road movie. The pair meets up with a foppish flute-playing flower child who calls himself "Pan" (Dennis Christopher), they are attacked and nearly raped by a vicious motorcycle gang, and they hang out with a bunch of hippies and get arrested by the police. There is a lot of groovy music, some dope, but not nearly as much nudity as you'd expect (aside from some brief skinny-dipping and a truly gratuitous high school shower scene that involves none of the leads). Wymer wears some pretty short mini-skirts, but I don't recall her ever putting on hot-pants and really justifying the "hot-pants generation" tag-line.

Mostly, this is just a fun period movie. Wymer is an appealing if somewhat limited actress. Bruno Kirby is good in a small role (He was also in the more famous but frankly inferior counterculture film "The Harrad Experiment" that same year). Dennis Christopher was one of the most under-appreciated young actors of the 70's and early 80's. This movie is hard to find, but I'd definitely recommend it.

For me, some films get by almost exclusively on their early 70's era vibes. The Young Graduates is such a movie. It has to be said, though, that this isn't a particularly good example of a counter-culture film - it's definitely overlong and its lack of focus doesn't always do it favours. But it remains passably entertaining on account of its sub-genre and era. It's not particularly strong in the story department but for what it's worth it revolves around a teenage girl who starts an affair with one of her teachers; later on, her and her friend set off on a road trip where they encounter various stock and trade characters of the day.

Made by Crown International Pictures at a time when they were producing their most consistently enjoyable output, this is in essence a teen melodrama that turns into a counter-cultural road movie in its second half. As such, amongst other things, it features evil bikers, hippies and a girl-fronted rock band. These are all good ingredients, even if the overall whole is slightly lacking. Events are complimented by a soundtrack of breezy early 70's tunes which certainly added a bit of additional period value to proceedings. I think this one can best be recommended to anyone fascinated by counter-cultural themed movies from the era in which hippies seemed to be around every corner. It is definitely a very minor and uneven example of this kind of thing though to be fair.

Although THE YOUNG GRADUATES was apparently filmed in 1971, it didn't play theatrically in Seattle until 1973, when it was shown as the co-feature with CLASS OF '44. It is a picaresque story of two cute teenage girls who have just graduated from high school. Patricia Wymer stars as Mindy, a precocious and beautiful blonde who's ripe for adventure. The film follows her many counter-culture activities as she enjoys an affair with a slightly older teacher while still hanging out with bikers, hippies, dopers, etc. The two girls themselves don't do drugs, other than sharing a spiked birthday cake with some hippies.

The film presents some young talent who later became famous, such as Bruno Kirby and Dennis Christopher. A special shout out must be added for the great girl group Pat Russell's The Spare Change, who are seen playing rock and roll in some high school dance scenes. They were one of the first girl groups to play their own instruments, although there are a couple of male sidemen as well. One of the film's cinematographers was John Toll, who later won Oscars for BRAVEHEART and THE THIN RED LINE.

Although a bit corny now, the film remains as a wonderful period piece that reflects the early 1970s youth culture. Although there is a bit of nudity, the film is surprisingly non-exploitative and non-judgmental about its subject matter. THE YOUNG GRADUATES was released on DVD on January 6th, 2009, as part of the BCI box set DRIVE-IN CULT CLASSICS VOL. 4 (available through Amazon.com, and Best Buy's website as well).

Have you ever sat watching a movie when 20 or 30 minutes have gone by and suddenly you realize that you have actually seen the movie before? That happened to me with "The Young Graduates". The cover of the video box, if you can find the video, is extremely deceiving. I'd swear that the two women on the cover aren't even in the film.

Anyway, I was either born a decade too late to appreciate the finer points of this film or...it is simply pointless junk. I'm heavily leaning toward the latter but I guess some out there have developed a connection to this movie.

Hmm...plot. A plot. Let's see...there must be a plot around here somewhere. Nope, I can't find it. It's pretty much about some high school seniors acting dopey and doing drugs and speaking in a language that became outdated decades ago. One of the female students has a crush on her teacher. The teacher has a frigid wife (whom he indeed refers to as an iceberg) so he is receptive to the girl's advances.

There's a lot of driving around and inane dialogue and plenty of spastic dancing. Our cat, BooBoo, was transfixed by the dancing high school kids. She watched with amazing intensity as the dancers gyrated and shook out on the dance floor. It's nice to see that at least one species has found something interesting in this relic. 1/10

I watched THE YOUNG GRADUATES as part of BCI Eclipse' Drive-in Cult Classics (featuring Crown International Pictures releases) on DVD.

This movie features Patricia Wymer, who I liked in THE BABYSITTER. Like that film, this feature packs a lot into a short time. However, unlike that movie, this one really has no story. Yes, you have hippies, rock music, bikers, sexual impropriety, attempted rape; and, a road-trip. But to what end?

The acting is flat – except for Bruno Kirby who is one of my all-time favorite actors! This was his first; and, I really think he deserved better during his career.

The musical score is inane and silly. Especially when the girls are in the gas station bathroom; and, another couple is desperate to use the loo. And, after the girls wash the truck; and, "burn rubbeer" leaving. Both scenes made me groan.

In any case, Robert Anderson, who directed and produced this movie, did just as bad a job on this one as he did on CINDY AND DONNA. I saw that film as well; but have not yet reviewed it…

If you like 70s cinema, race car or motorcycle driving scenes, psychedelic era, youth or teen culture, then try THE BABYSITTER or "WEEKEND WITH THE BABYSITTER.