Review of American Graffiti (62)

2010 is here and we have made a resolution to try and take a big chunk of movies off the list.  We got off to a good start by watching American Graffiti just three days into the new year.

Plot
American Graffiti is the coming of age of four teenagers on their last night of summer before college. Rediscover drag racing, inspiration point and drive-ins all over again in this nostalgic looks at the early 1960's.

Jason's Thoughts
American Graffiti is one of those movies that I had heard so much about but never got around to watching.  After watching it, I see that there is a certain charm about it.  On the surface, there isn't much going on as it follows the lives of four teenagers who are on the cusp of adulthood.  They are ready to make important decisions in their lives and this is the final farewell to their youth.

It is more to it than that, though, and everyone goes through this once high school is over. Some people move away while others stick around. Some go off to college and others go off to find jobs.  Due to this, long-time friendships tend to fade away while new ones are started.  Up until that point, these are probably some of the biggest decisions people will ever make and it can be hard to let go.

While I see why this movie is so highly enjoyed by many, I still only thought it was just a decent movie.  I feel this movie is geared towards the baby boomers that lived through it and was probably more meaningful when it was released in 1973. American Graffiti brings a generation back to a more simple time, a time before the JFK assassination, the Beatles, Civil Rights, the moon landing, Vietnam, and Woodstock.  That is where the charm comes comes from, and it is amplified by the wall-to-wall music that sets the mood.  

I'm not sure if American Graffiti was the first movie of its kind, but I know there have been several more since then.  Two that come to mind right away are Hollywood Knights and American Pie, both of which are better in my opinion in terms of comedy and production.  Even so, American Graffiti has struck a chord with many and will always be labeled a classic.

Crystal's Thoughts
This movie wasn't stellar, and I regret that I have to return to my thinking of how exactly this one made the list.  It wasn't a terrible movie either though as one can easily sit through it.  It's just a plain Jane.  The most fascinating thing I got out of the movie was the different cars of the 50s that we got to watch.  Both Jason and I were convinced that Toad would have Steve's Impala wrecked by the end of the film, but it survived.  However, I was left being curious as to whether or not Steve got the car back since he turned out to be the one who didn't go off to college.

What I did take away from the movie was how the biggest issue these teens had to face was whether or not to go to college and where.  Within a few short years, those teens instead would be faced with Vietnam.  Perhaps like Cabaret, this was the lead up to how much a society would be changed by impending war.  Perhaps that is why this film is on the list, to get us to think about times past and how a world can turn upside down.

Overall, it is a great Friday night movie to pop in when there isn't much else on.  It shows the simplicity of life back then.  And you can see some great cars of the 50s.

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