American Graffiti
Back when wunderkind George Lucas was trying to get Star Wars made, it was suggested to him to try to make something more ānormalā, and with Francis Coppolaās help, he came up with this, a smash hit that made $115 million and earned Oscar noms for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress. Right off the bat the film captures an element of ācoolā that is rarely seen even today: Even those people who dislike old school 50s rock n roll canāt help but be sucked in by the infectious beat of Rock Around The Clock, and this momentum continues thru the whole movie, which moves at a crackerjack pace. Certainly a forerunner for the later likes of Dazed And Confused, whereas the latter may have been a better written overall piece, Graffiti has the advantage of having much more likable characters, several of whom were on the cusp of stardom: Dreyfuss is more the observer of the film, trying to decide if heās leaving for college or not, but his story involving getting caught up with a street gang (led by Bo Hopkins) and his obsession with a beautiful blonde in a white T-Bird (Suzanne Somers), is fascinating, and helps make the viewer understand his final decision; LeMatās John Milner is the epitome of cool, and many of his scenes of him riding around with an underage girl (the adorable MacKenzie Phillips) are the highlights of the film; Charles Martin Smithās Terry Toad is the comic star of the film, whether it be crashing his moped or witnessing a liquor store holdup, and his chemistry with the ditsy, sexy, and freespirited Candy Clark (the filmās sole acting nominee) is surprisingly believable; Harrison Ford kicks off his legendary career in grand style as Bob Falfa, Milnerās rival and the closest the story comes to having a villain; Wolfman Jackās entertaining DJ monologues propel the film along, and his one on-screen appearance alongside Dreyfuss may be the filmās best scene; only Ron Howard, looking like a teenage Howdy Doody, fails to make much of an impression, and his teen angst romance storyline with Cindy Williams is the only aspect that seems tired and predictable (save for a strange incest reference to her and her brother played by Dreyfuss). The film does peter out a bit towards the end, with the big final showdown between Milner and Falfa turning out to be a bit anticlimactic, but the moving final shot of the T-Bird (and depressing coda), show Lucas to be a skilled filmmaker ahead of his time, and one wonders how he could have done if he had made a few more low-profile flicks in his career instead of being caught up for the rest of it with the inner workings of the Forceā¦
9/10