"American Graffiti" (1973)

Rank on the AFI List: #62

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
It starred Richard Dreyfus and Ron Howard, was directed by George Lucas, and is some sort of coming of age story about teenagers in the 60s.

LET ME EXPLAIN...
If you were in high school in the late '90s, I'll assume you've seen Can't Hardly Wait, the multicharacter coming of age teen comedy about high school graduates with different agendas during one crazy night.

And if you were in high school in the '60s or early '70s, I'll assume you've seen "American Graffiti", the multicharacter coming of age teen comedy about high school graduates with different agendas during one crazy night.

Obviously, I saw similarities between these two movies. And one thing I will say about both is this: they are very enjoyable. They're fun to watch. They made me laugh. Plus, there's a certain charm to following multiple stories of kids on the cusp of becoming adults as they deal with different situations. It's a great formula that keeps the audience from getting bored because it bounces around so much from one story to another.

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
One reason I think this is considered one of the best movies of all time is because it created a formula (which I just talked about) that is unique, fun, and executed very well. Add in the great acting all-around, an amazing soundtrack (10% of this film's entire budget went just to obtaining the rights to use all the great '50s and '60s music), and a screenplay that does a great job of weaving together the fun of being a teenager with the reality of becoming an adult, and this movie is impressive all around.

Not really a complaint, but...
A lot of this movie involves teens "cruising" on the streets. Since I was born in 1981, I never experienced "cruising", so I didn't really feel connected to the story or the characters too much. But after hearing stories from my mother-in-law (some very amusing stories, by the way) of her group of friends cruising when they were teenagers, I can't fault this movie for apparently doing an excellent job at conveying what teenagers did in the early 60s.

LET ME SUM UP...
This is an entertaining movie. It's fun to watch and has a great coming-of-age formula for following a group of teenagers on one crazy night. It was also neat to see Richard Dreyfus, Ron Howard, and Harrison Ford as young actors. All in all, this was fun to watch.

MY RATING: 7/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 62