Review of American Graffiti (1973) by Kenneth L — 27 Jul 2011

This movie, made by a young George Lucas a few years before Star Wars, is a quietly understated masterpiece. It achieves a lot of things: it was one of the first films to intercut several simultaneous storylines, a technique now common but then revolutionary. It is possibly the best portrait of the late 1950s/early 1960s era I've ever seen. It apparently was the first film with a wall-to-wall pop music soundtrack, and it's one of the best such soundtracks ever assembled, I think. And it also proves that George Lucas isn't just a schmuck who got lucky with Star Wars - at one point, even if it was only very briefly, Lucas was a truly great filmmaker, worthy of comparison with his peers like Martin Scorsese and the other New Hollywood directors. The fact that this film is so utterly different from Star Wars just helps to underscore that George Lucas was the real thing, and it makes you wonder what other great movies he might have made if Star Wars hadn't come to dominate his career (not that I would trade Star Wars for anything, mind you).

The multiple storylines deal with four recent high-school graduates in a small California town on the last night of the summer after high school. One of them (Ron Howard, or "Ronnie Howard" as he's listed in the credits) was class president, is supposed to leave for college in the morning, and is trying to break up with his girlfriend (Cindy Williams). Another (Richard Dreyfuss), a sensitive introspective kid, is debating whether or not he really wants to go to college. An uber-dweeb (Charles Martin Smith) just wants to impress a bubble-headed blonde (an Oscar-nominated Candy Clark). And a tough-guy drag-racer (Paul Le Mat) is stuck wandering around town with an annoying little girl (Mackenzie Phillips). Each of them gets into unexpected adventures over the course of the night, and by morning each of them has changed a little bit.

Unlike the traditional plot-driven Star Wars, American Graffiti is an entirely character-driven film, and it works beautifully. We really get to feel like we know each character, both the guys and the girls, and we care about how things go for them. Every single member of the large cast gives an excellent and utterly believable performance. Harrison Ford shows up briefly as a jerky rival drag racer. The famous radio host Wolfman Jack, whose show can constantly be heard on the radios in the film, appears as himself in a quietly excellent scene. As a whole, this movie has one of the greatest group casts probably ever.

The film is also remarkably well-made, especially for a famously low-budget and hastily-shot production. The cars, sets, and costumes all feel exactly right. Some people call this a nostalgia picture, and it might make you think of Grease, but this film is, I think, far more authentic in its memory of the time than Grease is. The soundtrack, which features The Beach Boys, Booker T and the MGs, and tons more artists of the time, really helps the film's feeling of immersion in 1962.

So, yes, George Lucas may not have directed anything himself for 22 years after the first Star Wars film. And yes, he is responsible for the Star Wars prequels. But all the same, he can't simply be written off. With American Graffiti and Star Wars, he created two of the greatest American movies, which is more than most movie directors can hope to contribute in their whole careers.