Boring

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The one reason that I ended up watching this film is because it was one of those films that always seems to come back again and again. Well, not quite because these days it is pretty dated. In fact I didn't realise that it was as old as it was, and here we see a really, really young Dustin Hoffman playing the role that basically made him a star. The problem was that I really didn't think all that much of this film. Okay, while I didn't hate it, I simply cannot give it a higher rating than I have. The film is about a young man, Ben, who returns from college to Los Angeles with top marks, and of course all of his family friends are so proud of him. Within a short time he discovers that one of his parent's friends is trying to seduce him, and after some hesitation, he decides to get involved. The catch comes about when her daughter also returns and his parents convince him to take her out on a date, much to the horror of her mother. Anyway, after him pursuing her to no end, they finally elope and the film ends. I can sort of see where the comedy in this film lies, however a part of me finds that what is happening is so unrealistic, at least looking at it from this day and age. For instance, he tries do make the first date as bad as possible, only to change his mind, and suddenly it is all okay. As for him constantly pursing her, there is something call harassment. This film is certainly dated when it comes to the content, though a part of me felt that half way through the creators pretty much reached a mental block, and simply did not know how to proceed. Sure, Ben is clearly a smart guy, and at the beginning of the film quite naive, but by the end his behaviour really doesn't seem to make his character all that flattering, and why they didn't end up calling the police when he crashed the wedding, and why Elaine even ran off with him is beyond me. In a way this film is one of those coming of age films, but it is also set at that time when many of us are really unsure where we are going in our life. For most of our lives we are guided, though we do make the occasional choices, such as what to study, however once we have finished university all of a sudden the world has opened up and many of us can be lost. Yet this is also about entering the world of the adult, the world where the innocence of our youths is suddenly destroyed upon the realisation that the people that we grew up with have a much darker side. Mind you, we are looking at the wealthier upper classes, but still, many of us in the middle class go through this angst as well. Still, I didn't find this film all that funny. Well, I could see where it was funny, particularly the scene where he is wandering through the hotel with his date to discover that everybody knows who he is, except they believe that he is somebody different. Then there is his naivety with regards to the affair, and that curiosity which suddenly turns him into a man in the know. He certainly does change, but as I mentioned, the film pretty much degenerates as we get near the end.

The Graduate is THE best comedy of the 1960s, easily making the top 10 all-time list. It's a film that propelled director Mike Nichols and actor Dustin Hoffman to the top of the Hollywood A-List.For baby-boomers, this is an iconic film - a snap-shot of mid 1960s affluent suburban post- college let-down, introspection, angst, and confusion. Baby boomers saw things vastly different than their Greatest Generation parents, and Nichols (along with screen-play writer Buck Henry) "integrated" the generation-gap in a way no film had before.Dustin Hoffman was fortunate to get the lead part as legend has it, and Nichols was fortunate to get him - both took advantage of the opportunity, and we are all fortunate they did so.Perhaps the best soundtrack sync in movie history, Nichols had an epiphany about using the introspective and melancholy music of Simon & Garfunkel in the film, setting what was then a new standard for use of popular music as an integral part of story telling. No film has done this better. Without that music sync, this would have been a fine film, but it would not have reached its legendary film status. Buck Henry's original screen-play delivers some very funny scenes - the hotel scenes running from the approximate 20 to 35 minute marks in the film are hilarious and everyone pulled it off to subtle perfection. Nichols ensured those comic moments were delivered with impeccable timing by utilizing Henry as a Day Player in the role of hotel manager.Anne Bancroft is brilliant (and hot) in what has become an iconic film character. This film achieves much with solid performances by the entire cast. This is Mike Nichols' greatest and most important achievement in film.What else can I add that hasn't already been stated?See it again when the mood strikes. First timers, you are in for a treat.Here's to you Mrs. Robinson! 🍸

"The Graduate" is an American English-language film from 1967, so it has its 50th anniversary this year and this is also the reason why it came back to theaters this year because it is a very special occasion. The film won recently deceased director Mike Nichols his only Oscar back then and it was also the only Oscar the movie won back then, but that sounds a bit derogative. That is quite a success obviously, especially as the film also scored many more nominations, including one for lead actor Dustin Hoffman and this film was his big breakthrough. Several other nods (and 2 wins) followed. His female co-lead Anne Bancroft probably had a better shot at winning and she was already an Oscar winner at that point. Add to that nominations for supporting actress, cinematography, writing and of course Best Picture. This is the story of a young man who ends up in a relationship with a much older woman before hopelessly falling in love with the woman's daughter. Hoffman was around the age of 30 in here and he clearly did not look like 20 as his character was supposed to be. But they had to make him that young because Bancroft was also younger than her character, the age difference between the actors was not that big. At one point they say she could have been his mother. Anyway, Mrs. Robinson is still considered among the greatest cougars / milfs in film history and the popularity of Bancroft's performance has turned the film into a classic really, even if the whole this is a really personal story without any significance for society or the masses really. As a consequence, it is fitting the film competed as a comedy at the Golden Globes and was very triumphant there. I would call it a mix of comedy and drama and I would also add the romance genre that is missing here on IMDb for this title. You could maybe call it a lighter, less serious "Love Story".Anyway, I enjoyed watching these 105 minutes quite a bit. Good job from everybody involved in the production. The ending was somewhat cute too and did not feel too forced. Maybe the biggest thing the film tells us from a historic perspective is how different marriage is perceived today compared to back then. Ross' character ends up talking marriage with one guy while marrying another and hardly had any romantic (not to mention sexual) involvement with either really. And that was social standard back then. Very odd from today's perspective. The overacting was not existent with one exception perhaps, when Hoffman's character's mother finds out about his son's potential wedding. The first half of the film belongs to Bancroft, the second to Hoffman and I personally struggled to see Hoffman's character's clumsiness as realistic compared to his success we find out early. But yeah, maybe he was a bit of a nerd too, nut just a heart throb. Bancroft is of course also lead in here. No Mrs. Robinson, no conflict at all in this movie as really both Hoffman's and Ross' characters actions are constantly related to Mrs. Robinson. The music is amazing in this film. "Mrs. Robinson" and "Sound of Silence" are instant classics, the third song did not do too much for me. But this film reminded me again how much I love Simon (and Garfunkel). Finally, a note on the story. Throughout the entire film from the moment she tells him not to date her daughter, I expected Mrs. Robinson to carry a dark secret with her, namely that she had an affair with Hoffman's character's dad 20 years ago and that the girl is actually the protagonist's half-sister. The references to her pregnancy/marriage, to a blood test later on, her infidelity now and 2 or 3 other moments really made me sure we would get this revelation later on that she wanted to avoid incest between the kids. But apparently not. Quite surprising to me I must admit. Seems it was all just jealousy and the fear of losing her young lover to a younger version of herself. Okay, that is all I believe. I liked this film and I give it a thumbs-up. I'd maybe not call it a classic, but I sure recommend watching this pretty entertaining film.

A film about the hopes and failures of romantic love as a rebellion against loneliness and lostlessness. When two lost graduates throw themselves into a passionate eloping, they see all too quickly that their voids are not filled, that two directionless people make simply for two directionless people, that their sum is no greater than their parts.