American Graffiti Review
They
don’t make movies like they used to. Normally that sentiment has nothing behind
it but nostalgia, but, since American
Graffiti came out before I was born, I feel I have the right to say so
about it. American Graffiti succeeded
with a small budget, a cast of unknowns, and an untested director. Lucas
creates a wonderful homage to growing up the way he and many others did in America
in the 60s. It is a romance of teenagers who know how to dance, who cruise the
streets in hot rods picking up girls and getting in serious trouble. The movie is
funny, hilarious at times, but nevertheless subtle, never overdone. Most
impressive of all, though, American
Graffiti has a heart. It has several touching, sobering moments where the
reality of life hits the young characters and helps them move on to higher
callings. American Graffiti does so
much right from beginning to end and deserves its status as an American
classic.
The
events of the film take place during the night before Curt (Richard Dreyfuss)
goes to college on the east coast—or at least before his plane leaves. Despite
the encouragement from his local community and the scholarship everyone
congratulates him on, he worries he may not be “the competitive type” and feels
inclined to spend a year at community college before making such a leap into
the world outside his hometown. Conflicted, he wanders the streets looking for
a beautiful woman who appears to mouth “I love you” at him through car windows.
Meanwhile his friend Steve (Ron Howard) struggles to come to an agreement with
his girlfriend Laurie (Cindy Williams) about their relationship during college,
resident tough guy John Milner (Paul Le Mot) gets stuck babysitting Carol, a
precocious twelve-year-old (MacKenzie Phillips) and lovable loser Terry
(Charles Martin Smith) spends the night with a pretty girl in Steve’s car. A
challenge to Milner’s drag racing superiority by cocksure rival Bob Falfa
(Harrison Ford) hangs ominously over the events of the night, and their eventual
race serves as the film’s climax (IMDB).
American Graffiti introduces a wave of
new actors and actresses, and much of the success of the film must be
attributed to their excellent debut performances. Filming was difficult; as
George Lucas describes it, “we had focus problems on the camera, and the
assistant cameraman was run over by a car and had to be taken to a hospital.
Then we had a five-alarm fire. That was a typical night” (Stafford). On top of
that, Lucas filmed the movie between the hours of 9:00 pm and 5:00 am
(Stafford), and filmed everything in chronological order (TVTropes). He did so
in order that the characters would seem more and more tired as the movie went
on, a technique that works for the film. However, it also makes performing well
more difficult, so the actors deserve recognition for their performances under
such circumstances.
The
acting has a wonderful sense of multi-faceted humanity. Part of this comes from
Lucas’s writing. He reveals in an interview that “they were all composite
characters, based on my life, and on the lives of friends of mine” (Stafford).
It may be the reality of the characters that contributes to how realistically
they develop. The complexity of Curt’s character, his noble desire to find a
niche in the world contrasted with the mischievous glee he finds in his
exploits with a local gang, make for a wonderful portrait of not a stock
character but a human being. Neither Steve nor Laurie may singularly be blamed
for their relationship problems; both display bitterness and a tendency to
manipulate one another alongside the tender affection which allows them to overcome
those obstacles. Milner, despite being a classic tough guy, still manages to
get past Carol’s immaturity and enjoy his time with her, even if he refuses to
admit it. Finally, the ending, which gives brief fictional summaries of the
later lives of four main characters, gives each character a realistic biography
and highlights the realism of their performances.
While
the actors portray very realistic, flawed teenagers, the environment around
them receives a lot of polish and hot rod red paint from Lucas. The film is
full of slick-looking cars from the time period, thanks to Lucas’s offer to
rent them from locals for the duration of the film (Stafford). Music also
features powerfully in American Graffiti.
Lucas hand-picks a large list of period songs from his personal collection,
used strategically both as odes to the era and as reflections of the mood in a
given scene. He represents the decade well despite being unable to procure
rights to significant songs from his list, including anything by Elvis Presley.
Lucas makes the atmosphere even more engrossing by making almost every song in
the background play via a single DJ who plays a role besides his vocal persona
in the movie. Wolfman Jack, an actual DJ who plays himself, is a hit with
characters of all ages and serves peripherally and centrally as a guiding
figure for Curt. Furthermore, Lucas shows off his filmmaking prowess by using strategic
speaker placement to present music to listeners as if from the perspective of
the camera (Cruisin’ the Boulevard). The romanticized suburban California town
comes alive thanks to the innovative use of borrowed songs and cars, real artifacts
from the time period.
Being
about mischievous teenagers, the movie contains many enjoyable light-hearted
moments. Blundering Terry contributes more than his fair share of comic relief;
he gets his pants pulled down by Milner, has a hilarious amount of trouble getting
in position to make out with his girl, Debbie, and crashes every vehicle he
drives. Mr. Wolfe (Terry McGovern) (IMDB) must be the coolest school dance
chaperone ever imagined; one can only laugh and smile as he attracts a crowd of
girls and reminisces on his boisterous hijinks with Curt. Even in the midst of
all the fun, though, the characters grow up. While Milner and Carol’s prank on
the people who threw a water balloon at them seems like just a rollicking good
time, it indicates that Milner has outgrown his tough guy shell and begun to
get along with Carol. In the end, Curt gets called by the girl he has been
chasing, but by that time he has found the drive to go to school and he manages
to leave his “vision,” as he calls her, behind. American Graffiti is a good time, but it also has meaning and heart
that cannot be found in the raunchy comedies of today.
Altogether,
American Graffiti tells the story of
a generation as a whole. While it may seem a little aimless at the outset, it
develops to mean so much. From the conflicted Curts wandering high school halls
trying their old lockers, to the arguing Steves and Lauries, to the daredevils
like Milner or Lucas himself (whose own film career owes to a major accident he
sustained from drag racing (Biography Channel Website)), American Graffiti captures examples of raw, poignant humanity
onscreen. Go check out this gem from the 70s. 5 stars out of 5.
Works
Cited
"American Graffiti
(1973)." Internet Movie Database.
IMDb.com, Inc., 1990-2013 Web. 16 Apr 2013.
" American Graffiti - The Music." Petaluma California's Salute to
American Graffiti. Cruisin' the
Boulevard, Inc., 2010. Web. 30 Apr 2013.
"Film: American Graffiti." TVTropes. TV Tropes Foundation
LLC. Web. 30 Apr 2013.
"George Lucas." 2013. The
Biography Channel website. Web. Apr 30 2013. http://www.biography.com/people/george-lucas-9388168.
Stafford, Jeff. "American Graffiti." Turner Classic Movies. Turner
Entertainment Networks, Inc., 2013.
Web. 30 Apr 2013.
