American Graffiti (1973)

Synopsis: Curt and Steve are high school grads one day removed from going to college. Going on the adventure that they've been working towards for as long as they can remember. The only problem is that Curt doesn't wanna go anymore! Steve tries to convince him at the beginning of the night but he's quickly swarmed with problems with his girl, Laurie (Curt's sister). But wait up! Curt and Steve aren't the only ones finished high school and confused about their lives. Terry the Toad, their geeky, third wheeling friend, has a problem of his own: girls! Steve gives Terry his car for Terry to take car of when Steve's at college. So what does Terry do? He decides to go cruising for chicks! Then there's John Milner. He graduate so many years ago and he just hasn't grown up. Instead, he's achieved the town's ace dragster and is out lookin' for a new challenge along with an unlikey passenger. That's when Bob Falfa (Harrison Ford) comes in. This ensemble cast is set up for one crazy night surely to go down in history as just another ordinary night for most, but for these guys, it will be the night of their lives!

Should You Watch It? This story has four, maybe even five, real solid stories all woven into one. Sure, it's not as tight as Little Miss Sunshine but hey! it's a bit different in that the characters are all off doing their own thing and only interact with each other sporadically through out the film. This movie is pretty light hearted with plenty of humour if you get 70's humour but at the same time, it has a great premise, a classic coming of age story.

Things to Watch Out For: Although it's not a major problem for this movie, these ensemble casts are sometimes a bit tricky to keep track of everyone's story and where exactly they are all the time if they aren't together. In order to solve this problem, you either have to have a great memory, or just look for the scenes in front of the roller skating cafe. This place works as a break room sorta and it keep people up to date on all the activiites except for Milner.

Things You Don't Expect: The music in this movie is pretty great. At first you might think that it will date it and really make it seem cheesy, but all the songs they used are classics! I found myself singing along several times. Ba-ba- ba, ba-barbaran!

Final Comments:
Story: 8.8
Direction: 7.5 (George Lucas)
Acting: 6.7
Cinematography: 8.5
Music/Sound: 9.2

Final Score: 8.2