American Graffiti Tough Film Review

Cool. Are you the AG milner tribute coupe I sometimes see driving on Western Ave by Addison?

 

Regarding the movie, the author(s) write: "Rather than exploring characters or issues in depth, it presents us with familiar types whose lives are woven together in four slender plot lines."

It has always been surprising to me how the central theme of American Graffiti has been overlooked and never been discussed (that I know about) through the years since its release. It has always been looked on as George Lucas' quaint little low budget movie which simply provides a nostalgic look at the lives of teenagers in a simpler time, entertaining with it's period cars and music. What is generally missed is the cl***ic theme of the effect of inevitable change on the lives of people. On one hand, you have four of the main characters, Steve, Kurt, Terry (Toad) and Laurie, who have just graduated from high school. Each has some dilemma about what they going to do or getting ready to do. On the other hand you have John Milner, a character who is a little older than the other four. His dilemma is that he senses the change that's coming to the world as he knows it. In the scene at the beginning of the movie where he and Kurt are having a conversation about how things use to be, they are interrupted by the sound of Falfa's '55. Kurt says, "Hey John, someones new in town .... Are you goin' after 'em?" Milner blows it off, but you can see the feeling of foreboding in his expression. In a following scene, he get's very agitated with all of the talk of going to the sock hop to remember all the good times before heading off to college. He blows up and says to go. He's not going away to some fancy college. He's staying and is going to have fun as usual.

As the movie progresses, Kurt is thinking of postponing his college plans, searching for some meaning of life, Steve is torn between temporarily leaving his girlfriend behind and going off to college, Laurie's world is shaken worrying at what might happen with her boyfriend, Steve, going away, and Toad is awkwardly trying to find his way in the chaos of all the change. As for Milner, he goes through the evening trying to live the life that has been typical for him, but all the while, there are reminders of the impending wave of change. He is threatened on every front; the music he loves is being pushed aside by that "surfing ****," he's let himself get stuck with a preteen girl who is constantly reminding him of how pop culture is changing, and, most of all, he keeps having brief encounters with Falfa.

Falfa is hounding Milner. Milner knows a race is inevitable, but is resisting. For Milner, Falfa is symbolic of the change that IS coming. In a new breed of street machine, Falfa' s '55 Chevy represents hot rodding's future. Milner's '32 Ford coupe is of the old school. The race that is to come is the new guard threatening to push aside the old guard. Milner's show of confidence thinly veils his uneasiness. Even after the race takes place and Falfa crashes, Milner feels defeated although he is ***ured by Toad he was not. But, we the viewers know that symbolically, whether he was losing the race or not, Milner is singing his swan song. In the epilogue, at the end of the movie, we learn that in just two years, Milner would be dead. The old guard WILL BE phased out.

American Graffiti is full of symbolism, The year 1962 is symbolic itself. It signifies the close of an era ... the end of innocence. With the coming of 1963, the year that Kennedy was shot, the Beatles will score a number one hit in the U.S. Very soon, they will arrive on American soil and pop music would change forever. In 1963, we start to see more and more changes with the styling and performance of production automobiles that soon give rise to the "muscle car" era. The very existence of hot rodding as it was known prior to 1962 would be changed.

Although the characters and issues are not developed in the sense that the article points out, Lucas uses the characters to develop a story that is a rich metaphor for the dynamics of a continuously changing world and people's struggle to keep up with it.

 

And that's why I like the movie, everything that Toby just took the time to write out. Standing at the precipice of adulthood... Milner's wistfulness...

 

I just thought the cars were cool...(very good stuff, Toby).

 

i like what you said toby.. what he said heh.
chris.

 

Awesome. If someone were to read in more to this movie (film?)..... THIS is it! Man, that "other" review by the extended pinkie clan is just sad.

 

As stated, Toby nailed it. That said, I do enjoy reading film criticism, even if I don't agree with it. It certainly can lead one to think. Funny thing about that old review Graffiti 32 put on his blog - the reviewers are doing everything they can to diminish the impact and importance of the film, but everything they say actually makes AM seem even more meaningful and compelling, particularly when looking back. By far AM is Lucas' best effort.

I was lucky enough to see it in the theater as an eight year old, my oldest brother, fresh out of a stint in the Army took me, because he knew I dug cars.

BTW I think the universally reviled More American Graffiti is good in many ways.

 

I talk about the "change" that this movie represents all the time. My friends mock me for reading too much into AG. They say "It's just a movie"...Compare the world in '62 to the world in '72.....Light years in difference! The years leading up to '72 were like some sort of time bomb just waiting to explode! I'm sorry I wasn't around to see it, (born in '71) but I am interested none the less. I absolutely love AG and all it represents. I have seen it hundreds of times and will continue to share it with others as many times as I can.

 

I have fond memories of the fems in the seventies

 

Great stuff Toby!!

 

Not necessarily '62, but definitely pre-video game generations.

I gradgee8ted in '83 and it was pretty much the same for our generation, except it was Novas, Camaros, and Mustangs. We still had the scooter ****(moped **** actually, fine, it was me) the baddest car around(me again), the jock(not me) and his ****, err I mean cheer-leader girlfriend(not mine, lets just say we had a "relationship"), and everybody was trying to get lucky! We didn't have drive in restaurants, but the dynamic was very similar.

Only real difference is we weren't going off to the Army to fight in Vietnam, we were going off to the Army because there weren't any jobs. Fine that was me too.

Thats right, I played nearly every role in my very own remake of American Graffiti. Threw in a little Happy Days for good measure and now as I get older, its more All in the Family.......heading for Waltons Mountain

 

I graduated high school in 1962. Can you say "been there, done that"? A friend of mine saw the movie first and told me I "had" to go see it. Glad I did during it's first "go round'. When we left the theater my wife looked at me and said, "whoever wrote that had to have been there to capture the whole essence of the time". I agreed, not because every detail was "exactly" as we lived it, but it gave us back the feeling of what it was like to have lived during that era like nothing else we had ever experienced on film or in print. I don't worship the film as some do and it's very seldom we get our copy of it out and watch it it again but the feeling is still the same as that first viewing. Some things have to be taken a face value to be truely appreciated. Any deeper ****ysis is just asking for a session with Dr. Phil.

Frank

 

I too saw the movie during it's first release and left feeling pretty much like Frank said,,very reminiscent of my youth,,good movie but it is not the end all be all,,it's just a movie.HRP

 

I'm glad, finally, to see a very thoughtful thread that shows that so many people GOT what George was doing when he made this little, low-budget gem! I was so damn tired of reading stuff from people worshiping AG. It was a cool, nostalgic, well-made blast of the past. No big message, even though it surely reminded people of a time before Vietnam when things were, yeah, a little bit simpler.

Thanks, Toby for what were obviously heartfelt sentiments. AG IS a great little movie, you expressed your view very well, and you gave voice to the objective view of the movie (I never use the term "film," 'cause that's f-in' pretentious and snooty.).

Yup, well said.

Your friends must be from the crowd that flocks to movies that are about CG visuals over plot and substance. YOU are someone who understands movies, so don't let idiots bring you down.

LOL. Yeah, musicals are imitations of life and make no pretense. AG was, at least, closer to life. When Milner talks about the old days when it took all night and a tank o' gas to hit all the spots, that resonates with me. My dad always *****ed about his gas gauge, and he finally bought me (for $100) a Hemi DeSoto. After that, I had to buy my own gas!

Maybe they have to write tripe to pay bills? We can read their tripe and say, "********!" Right?

Yup.

 

geeze...that's quite a review...she must have gotten up on the wrong side of the broom

 

Hey John
No not me. My coupe is not done yet. If you want to see my coupe progress check this link. http://jeffsallgraffitiallthetime2.blogspot.com/

Jeff

 

Here's my "film" review...best MOVIE ever!

 

What Toby says is pretty much spot on. For many of us, that has always been the underlying reason for our connection the AG. I remember seeing it when it came out like it was yesterday, it took me back to my own High School days, with a bit of yearning for a simpler time. I think the critics here missed a couple of points (starting with saying it was set in the fifties) and that is probably based on the fact that they didn't live that era, or at least not that culture. The truth is, while the story is fictional based on George Lucas' life experience growing up in the Central Valley town of Modesto, it is accurate enough that it could have been a true life story (with a little Hollywood poetic license). So for that reason I think these two women missed the mark when they said it wasn't historical - it is very historical for a point in time - which is all it ever tried to be. No it didn't delve into how we got there, nor how it relates to the future. It DOES tell a very realistic story of a day in the life from that time period, and for that reason it is quite historical.

 

The two twits who wrote that review mention "graduation night sometime in the fifties". Didn't even notice the tag line "Where were you in '62?". I read no further because they did not see the film.

 

It's one of my all-time favourite movies, period. Only partially to do with the cars and racing; largely it was the fun to be had under the security of nighttime. You only gotta look at Tom Waits and his fascination and love of the characters that come out after dark to maybe get where I'm headed. I used to love finishing up on the Friday afternoon, g***ing up the '53 and getting ready to spend the whole night driving round for no good reason other than to see who was out doing the same thing! I should point out here I'm talking early 80's, not '62................****** great days.

 

Yup, you said a mouthful. The old saying is: Those who can, DO. Those who can't become CRITICS.

 

Great, great movie. I read somewhere that it had something like a $100,000 budget and so most of the scenes had to be filmed in one take. Critics thought it would be a big flop....guess they were wrong.

 

Seen AG a hundred times. Wasn't alive in 1962 but sure wish I was....except if I was I'd be old now. hmmm...

 

Dudes:
I saw this on New Year's Eve in Minneapolis and a yellow 34 chevy coupe rolled by when we were leaving the studio. Out of sight, I loved the show! It light my p***ion about old cars even further, a 40 Coupe and Deuce Coupe later, we are still going strong. Didn't even think about the women's issue during the film, the roles portrayed looked accurate to me.
I wasn't in Petaluma in 62, but I was somewhere at that time.

 

the year i graduated. the best damn movie ever made and as for the( fefable)( blond i thought all women were that way

(my mom taught me not to use dirty words in mixed company)

 

DrJones, be GLAD you're the age you are. You've got more time AHEAD to enjoy the hobby you've come to adopt and love. You didn't HAVE to be there in the beginning. YOU HAVE THE HAMB and all the memories and resources. Think of the HAMB as the "library" and resource that goes with allegorical movies like AG and "Stand by Me, " and the others -- great and cheesy alike. I like your at***ude, though. When we "old guysand dolls" are gone, YOU and your generation will, I'm sure, carry on the TRAD 'rodding and customizing ways!

 

I did the same thing mid 80's It was the best! but usually in my 72 Dart