American Graffiti
1973
Director: George Lucas
Starring: Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Cindy Williams, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith
It’s the night before Steve (Howard) and Curt (Dreyfuss) are leaving for college. They are determined to have one last night hanging out with friends John (Le Mat) and Terry the Toad (Smith), getting into teenage mischief. Curt is plagued by doubts about whether he should take the big leap and leave the nest of their small town, and Steve is finding it difficult to leave his long-term girlfriend Laurie (Williams).
This is the sort of movie that my father absolutely loves. Lucas lovingly paints a portrait of a certain time and place in American history. It’s a good portrait, but almost too good. Why? Because it is forever linked to its particular time. Will it age well? I’m going with “no” because already, the movie is showing its wrinkles. While certain facets about the film, most notably the pain and trauma of leaving home, friends, and family for the first time to go off to college, are still fresh and still affecting, many others – cruising the strip, spending Friday night at the sock hop, wanting to join a petty gang called “The Pharaohs” – haven’t been a part of American culture for, well, decades.
