Film Review: American Graffiti (1973)

In the last few years, it became very fashionable to portray the 1970s as the Golden Age. People who actually had to live in that particular period had somewhat different perspectives. In the Gloomy Decade, lamentation over a kinder and gentler past was quite fashionable. In 1973, George Lucas, a young and unknown film director at the time, was one of the first to profit from such a feeling of nostalgia. His semi-autobiographical drama American Graffiti , shot in four weeks on a small budget, turned out to be one of the most popular, and therefore, most profitable films of the year. Financial success, critical praise, and "Oscar" nominations later allowed Lucas to engage in the next and even more successful project - Star Wars .

The plot takes place in Modesto, a small town in Northern California during one night in the summer of 1962. Curt Henderson played by Richard Dreyfuss and Steve Bolander played by Ron Howard are two high school graduates who are about to travel east the next morning in order to enrol in college. Two of them have different views on their immediate future: Curt has some second thoughts about leaving friends, familiar settings, and a carefree teenage lifestyle; Steve is, on the other hand, quite adamant about going to college, even if it jeopardises his relationship with and Steve's sister Laurie played by Cindy Williams . Steve, while trying to settle things with Laurie, borrows his expensive car to Terry "The Toad" Fields played by Charles Martin Smith , a nerdy friend who would use that machine to cruise the town's strip and pick up beautiful blonde Debbie Dunham played by Candy Clark .…

American Graffiti is often cited not only as one of the best films of the 1970s, but also one of the best American films of the 20th century. On the other hand, its current popularity was perpetuated, at least partially, by the later success of Star Wars and the instant name recognition of its creator. Overrated or not, American Graffiti is a fine piece of filmmaking. It has anything a good period film should have: costumes, hairstyles, cars, and other details characteristic of the early 1960s, all shot by good cinematography by Harry Wexler although some scenes look too dark at times . The period atmosphere is also brought about by a semi-documentary style in which Lucas shows us fast food restaurants, drive-ins, high school dances, night cruising, drag races, and other social customs of that era. The characters are well written and played by a great ensemble cast of young and unknown…

However, this film, despite being very good, lost part of its initial appeal through the passage of time. Some of the flaws in the script by George Lucas and Gloria Katz are becoming more transparent, such as the lack of coherent plot and adequate closure. Many situations and character types became overused in a multitude of later films that covered the same period, turning American Graffiti into a large collection of clichés and stereotypes. And even its message of growing up and facing the world seems less universal than Lucas wants to admit. Those who would understand this film the most are still those who used to grow up in a nearly fairytale world of post-WW2 American prosperity and whose illusions were shattered by the Kennedy assassination, Vietnam, and the great social turmoil that followed those traumatic events. The others would probably have a different perspective on this fi…

RATING: 7/10 +++

Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on April 25th 2000

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