American Graffiti: Review By slysnide

THE BEST MOVIE EVER MADE!!!!!!!!! MY ALL TIME FAVORITE FILM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Four story-lines taking place in one night. 2 guys set to go back east for college in the morning must decide what they'll do, while a nerd gets his night, and the badass streetracer gets stuck carting around an adventurous 12yr old all night long.

The first story-line was the weakest, since writer/director George Lucas (THX 1138/Star Wars/Indiana Jones) didn't identify with that story-line when he was growing up in late '50s and early '60s Modesto. Said story-line is about Steve Bolander, who is set to go to college in the morning, but in classic '50s guy fashion (no offense guys) he thinks his girlfriend Laurie won't be able to handle his absence, since she still has a year of high school left. Throughout the film, they get mad at each other, share rarely a passionate moment, dance while being infuriated on the dance floor, break up/hook up, and have serious conversations about the seriousness of their relationship (all so Steve can have an excuse to date other girls in college). I also thought this was the weakest and least appealing of the story-lines, for I didn't identify with this story-line either.

The second story-line follows the nerd called Terry "the Toad" Fields (Charlie Martin Smith[who looked like and admitted to Lucas as being "an actor person" to get the part]) who has a motor scooter, and is charged to take care of Steve's '50s classic car while he's away in Autumn for college. From there, Toad cruises the town and scratches the car in a fender bender, and flees the scene of a salesman that's desperate to make a late night sale! Then he picks up a cute and decked out '50s chick (Candy Clark[who got the role cuz she was the only one in costume in the audition sessions]) named Debbie that he struggles to buy beer for, and decides to pull the 'lost ID' trick with locals to get booze, and even borrows Debbie's money for it! But a renegade robbery solves that. And from there they make out and Debbie recollects and is excited by a possible sighting of "the goat killer" who switches human parts with goat parts! This freaks out Toad, and soon they're on the run to recover Steve's lost car!!!! With Steve accompanying them on their quest w/out letting him know what happened!!!

And the result of the mayhem??? A parking lot fight with thieves and the "lone ranger" to the rescue!!!!! Will Debbie endure ALL of Toad's antics???????? Will she stay with him????? Will she have had a good time????????? Will Toad ever recover Steve's car???? Will Toad survive the night???????Watch the film and find out!!!!!!!!!!

That was my favorite story-line, cuz we were all the unpopular nerd once, just as George puts it, and we can identify with the klutz like things that Terry the Toad does, and laugh at it at the same time whilst reminiscing about when we were there. And I think I may still be there, so yeah, I like it even more.

The third story-line follows street racer John Milner's (Paul LeMat) night flirting with girls, avoiding a badass in a wicked '55 Chevy, and then everything doesn't go his way, as he soon finds himself carting around a 12yr old girl named Carol (Mackenzie Phillips[who was daughter of 'Mamma's & Pappa's singer that got the part and rolled around like a dog in excitement]) that brings out his cynical side. From parking tickets being stuffed in the "C.S" folder for Chicken Sh*t, to assaulting a car with bottles of whip cream, and tailgating, John starts to have fun, but that soon changes as he realizes that he can't get rid of Carol, and so he takes her over to the car junkyard to tell her stories about wicked racers that lost control and got killed in devastating crashes (like "Hot Rods To Hell") of which are completely made up on his part in an attempt to scare Carol into wanting to go home, but it only invigorates her sense of excitement and longing for action. As the night wanes, John must resort to desperate measures or worse to get rid of Carol, become a lone ranger, and face the badass in the wicked '55 Chevy!!! Will he successfully be rid of Carol???? Will he find the '55 Chevy???? Will he face him in a streetrace?????? Find out and watch the film!

This was another cool story-line, as everyone knows that one guy that was cool, thought he was badass, or was, and can recollect their worst night out. That's what George did when he came up with this story, and everyone loved it! It fills in the car enthusiast role that George identified with, as do I, and all the cruising captures the cool cars of the '50s.

The fourth story-line is the pinnacle story-line in the movie, as it follows the other college bound student on his last night in town. Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) goes to his old high school and reminisces with a former teacher, tries to open his old locker with his old combination, and randomly roams town feeling nostalgic about leaving the town he never really enjoyed (kinda like me) until facing the reality that he would be leaving it behind. He also rides in the back of a car and spots $30 Sherri- I mean, a girl mouth "I love you" to him, which has him chasing down her white T-Bird all night long. Though he's soon 'abducted' by the Pharaoh's street gang, and finds himself to be assisting in arcade machine robberies and yanking an axel off a cop car. Through the excitement, the Pharaoh's mention their love of the mysterious radio personality called "Wolfman Jack" whom is rumored to run his radio station in Mexico, but it's a chance meeting with a DJ at the end of the film that must set Curt straight in deciding whether or not he should go off to college or rot away in reminiscing about the life he never lived.

This story is reminiscent of every nearly anti-social (like me) that doesn't do much but mope around and for some odd reason cares about leaving behind their boring lives for a better one. The nostalgia is paramount in the story, and the decision of whether or not to change course is the whole theme of the story. Lucas did the same with "Star Wars" with the characters of Luke and Anikan, and did the same wtith THX 1138. That makes this story-line the most important, and the pinnacle of the whole movie.

Of course, this badass streetracer named Bob Falfa (Harrison Ford[former carpenter of George's office]) intertwines himself with 3 of the story-lines and brings them altogether for the climax.

In the end, the themes that this film encompasses are all present in George Lucas' movies, as they are in American culture, hence the title.

The musical track of '50s/'60s music is amazing as the scenes are written around the music instead of the music being chosen for the scene. This hasn't been done before or since on such a scale cuz of the cost to do such a thing nowdays, but it was great in this movie!!!!!!

Production began in March '72 (I think), and began in San Rafael, CA, but the filmmakers were kicked out after a day or so their cuz the city changed their mind about letting them stay there. Though they were allowed to return at the end of the shoot for the filming of vehicular montages.

The film relocated to Petaluma, CA where many of the locations from the film can still be seen today. Filming lasted from 6:00pm to 4:00am. The whole crew and actors were staying at a motel, where for a few days some loud dentists at a convention were partying all day long, causing the actors and crew a lack of sleep. At the same motel, Paul LeMatt grabbed Richard Dreyfeuss and tossed him in the pool as he warned he would, but he landed in the shallow end and got a black eye, and make-up was required to cover it up. Filming lasted about 3-4 weeks, and it was supposed to take place on a hot august night, but instead was being filmed on cold march evenings.

Since 2006, an annual "Salute To American Graffiti" is held every May in Petaluma, CA, where there are lots of classic cars, classic music, memorabilia, and even some of the actors appear as well.

Despite that critics hated it at first, it skyrocketed to have the most successful box office intake in history, with the exception of San Franciscans who didn't like the movie.

To this day, the film reigns supreme in the annals of films on American culture and has rarely ever been equivalent to anything else in it's greatness!!!!! Even real radio personality Wolfman Jack sells this concept brilliantly (RIP)

LONG LIVE AMERICAN GRAFFITI!!!!