Review of American Graffiti (1973) by Steven (Mogi) . — 30 May 2010
This movie came out the summer before my senior year in high school. I went to see it in Stillwater, OK. The movie is set in 1962 and what surprised me was that the kids in my home town were still doing the things they showed in this movie.
We used to drive around in our cars looking for action and never finding any. My sister used to go up to Perry and drive around with her friends between the Sonic and the town square. The great thing about this movie is the music and the cars.
Most of the music and the cars were from the 1950's. The popularity of this movie inspired the TV show Happy Days and several radio stations playing 1950's rock and roll. In the 1973 some guys had 1960's era muscle cars and we listened to 1970's era Rock and Roll on WKY.
In the movie they listened to Wolfman Jack. The movie revived his career and he soon was hosting Friday night's Midnight Special on NBC. Two girls I knew told me that the "Toad" character reminded them of me.
I'm not sure but I think they insulted me. I was surprised to find out that I was a victim of the "Goat Murderer". The movie was filmed on location in northern California and has the feel of a summer night.
The entire story takes place on a single summer night in 1962 and tells the story of a pair high school graduates about to leave for college (Opie Cunningham and a shark expert), the sister of one and the girl friend of the other (Shirley) who's still has a year to go, "Toad" their dorky friend, and an older hanger on who's the town hot rod stud.
The movie follows their intertwined adventures that night and climaxes with a dawn drag race with Hans Solo.
This review of American Graffiti (1973) was written by Steven (Mogi) . on 30 May 2010.
American Graffiti has generally received very positive reviews.
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