Thanks for the memories!

disgusting, overrated, pointless

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

45 years ago, just a few years before Star Wars, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola brought to the world a coming-of-age teen comedy called American Graffiti, which was somewhat of a nostalgic project for Lucas himself. Considering the film is set in 1962, one would imagine the whole movie could have been made around said time by Lucas on a Z-movie budget with no big studio involved. Either way, what followed was both a critical and commercial success, while helping kickstart the careers for the likes of Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Charles Martin Smith, Paul le Mat and even Harrison Ford. With all that said, upon watching this movie, it is relatable enough to any teen who has to come to terms with their own life decisions after high school.The whole movie doesn't have one singular narrative, instead it is told through a series of vignettes that show a group of teenagers cruising around Modesto, California over a single night and getting into all sorts of mishaps. Whether it'd be Curt Henderson (Dreyfuss) getting involved with a street gang, Steve Bolander (Howard) facing a relationship crisis with his girlfriend Laurie (a.k.a. Curt's sister), or drag racer John Milner (le Mat) having to deal with an annoying 12 year old named Carol (Mackenzie Philips), each storyline really details the small struggles that teens may have faced back then, such as dueling, arguing, and relationship issues. Even with all these storylines happening at once, the film never feels messy, and the script contains many lovable characters who practically embrace the American culture of back then. In addition, the humor that mostly relies on dialogue is deliriously funny without getting lost from the more serious moments.Arguably the funniest arch comes from the bumbling insecure dork Terry Fields (Smith) and the adventurous blonde Debbie (Candy Clark), as Terry constantly tries and fails to hide his insecurity from her, like buying booze or lying about his car. In addition to displaying some of the more heartfelt and earnest moments on camera, both these characters display the best personalities on screen, and their dizzy albeit warm bubble-headedness is enough to grant even the tiniest of giggles. In addition, Harrison Ford is hysterical as the arrogant driver Bob Falfa, a man who wants to challenge Milner to a race but also feels that he's lost his touch in the spotlight. The film's soundtrack, consisting of multiple 50s and early 60s rock & roll songs, also becomes provocative throughout the movie, especially with disc jockey Wolfman Jack speaking through car radios and announcing all the hits, helping establish a parallel dramatic subtext. While it may run a little slow, the film's steadiness serves the story well to add into the character's disciplined nature, and even the pace at its most hectic never becomes overwhelming. Honestly, steady might be a good word to describe American Graffiti, as it's not meant to be some heavily faced paced screwball comedy, but more of a laid back teen movie that perfectly captures the antics of adolescents living their glory days before going out to the real world. I'd say give this a watch if you're into seeing the crazy shenanigans of teenagers during the happy/heavy times of the 1960s, or if you'd like to check out what else George Lucas directed besides Star Wars. Even if you won't entirely get all the references, you may end up feeling empathetic to these teens, since you yourself might have been one of them before.

I have grown up watching this movie. I have always loved good music but this movie really showed me what it would be like growing up around all that fantastic music! My dad always told me that out of all the movies he's watched depicting this era this one did the best. VERY good movie, I always recommend it to everyone!

Released in 1973 and directed/written by George Lucas, "American Graffiti" is a teen drama taking place in a Bay area town in California one night at the end of the summer of '62. The youths drive the strip, seek romance, drink, cause innocent havoc and reflect on their futures. As the inspiration of the popular Happy Days, I was expecting a great movie, but it's not. Sure, the old cars and late 50s/early 60's rock 'n' roll are great, as are some of the cast, but the story & writing are seriously dull. "Dazed and Confused" (1993) had a similar theme, but the events in that film take place in 1976 and the movie's all-around superior (it's incredible how American culture radically changed in a mere 14 years). Ron Howard is perfect as the protagonist for this sort of story, as shown in Happy Days, but I didn't care a wit about his character's relationship with his girlfriend (Cindy Williams) and whether or not they stayed together as Steve (Howard) readied himself for college. Nor did I buy the idea that Debbie would be into Terry at the end (Candy Clark & Charles Martin Smith) or that Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) would fall hopelessly in love with some older blond he meets for 5 seconds on the strip. Paul Le Mat plays the best character, the hot roddin' John, and I liked how his relationship with the pubescent Carol (Mackenzie Phillips) evolves over the course of the evening but their bickering is annoying. Interestingly, a young Harrison Ford appears as John's racing rival and there's an effective race sequence at the end. Bo Hopkins is notable as the leader of the Pharaohs gang where Manuel Padilla Jr & Beau Gentry play subordinates; they, more or less, take Curt hostage. Unfortunately, there are only a couple of genuinely alluring females and they're decidedly side characters (e.g. Jana Bellan). So I enjoyed the setting, the cars, the music and some of the cast, but virtually none of the subplots interested me. The writing's unengaging. Combine virtually any four Happy Days episodes and they're vastly more entertaining story-wise than this ridiculously overrated flick. Despite my criticisms, the film was a hit and Lucas used his newfound clout to forge 1977's blockbuster "Star Wars." The movie runs 112 minutes and was shot in the bay area of Northern California (Petaluma, San Rafael, Mill Valley, Pinole, Concord, Larkspur, SF and Berkeley). ADDITIONAL WRITERS: Gloria Katz & Willard Huyck. Wolfman Jack is heard on the radio throughout and even appears at the end. GRADE: C

George Lucas is mostly known for presenting to the world Star Wars, but surely American Graffiti is another successful and memorable film made by him. The story isn't the most profound but this doesn't matter because it so funny and delightful to watch. It's wonderful see a movie, having such an 50's/60's atmosphere present in it. You certainly dive into the 60's as a result of the good job in picturing the essence of this particular time, for the way how were their hairstyles, their clothing even how they used to dance. However what really caught my attention were the cars and the soundtrack. The classic cars had charm, which most of the cars nowadays lack, and their design made each model unique and fascinating. The soundtrack is so catchy and enjoyable that in some moments you really want to have experienced or be in that film, due to the immersion that was created in some scenes.