Review of American Graffiti (1973) by Dawn E — 29 Nov 2009

I cant quite get my head around the fact that this movie was directed by George Lucas--yes, that George Lucas. Its just such a different style. The one thing he gets mega points for on the directorial front with this film, is that (acc to IMDB) he'd do a lot of single take scenes. The actors would sometimes flub lines, but as long as they stayed in character, that was the shot that was used (examples are when Carol gets hit by a water balloon and also when Terry brings the booze to Debbie in the car). Adds a lot of realism to it.

The best part of the movie was definitely the soundtrack. No contest there. Such classic oldies--Johnny B Goode, Runaway, Barbara Ann, Surfing Safari, Maybe Baby. I've just added all of them to my download list. Often times I wasn't even paying attention to the scene because I was rocking out. Yeah, I know. Punk rock princess over here rocking out to oldies. Deal with it.

There wasn't much in the way of plot, which meant that I'd lose interest here and there. But I did really like some of the characters. Milner was my favorite. Definitely perked up whenever he was on screen. And points for Harrison Ford, singing One Enchanted Evening (just the beginning of the clip).

While the plot didnt quite grab me, I found it really intriguing as a period piece. The 60's is easily my favorite decade that I didnt live through. Although I usually like the stylized uber colorful version (think Hairspray). But this was a great real vision of the decade. I was also fascinated (that word choice seems strange) by the whole cruising concept. I dont think I'd ever really seen that before. Growing up I used to always hear about teens crusing down San Bernardo back home, and I never understood what was so special about it that it was such a big thing. Now I get it. Do the kids still even do that anymore?