American Graffiti (1973)

4 Stars (out of 4)

Great Pretenders

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

George Lucas's second movie after THX-1138 is about what a night of cruising around his hometown of Modesto might have been like back in the 1950s. It has a rambling quality, as the night seems to unfold randomly, but there's actually a brilliant structure to it all. Mel's Drive-In, the sock hop, the strip, and Wolfman Jack's steady parade of 1950s and '60s hits provide the backbone. The main conflict revolves around Steve (Ron Howard) and Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), who are both scheduled to head off to college in the morning. Curt has been having second thoughts. Steve's girlfriend Laurie (Cindy Williams) is upset over their impending separation, and they have a fight. Meanwhile, Steve has placed his beloved car in the care of "Terry the Toad" (Charles Martin Smith), who immediately uses it to pick up a cute girl, Debbit (Candy Clark), while lying about its actual ownership.

Then we meet John Milner (Paul Le Mat), a star of the strip with one of the fastest, coolest cars around. He also tries to pick up a girl and winds up with gawky 12-year-old Carol (Mackenzie Phillips), who is having too much fun to leave. Finally, Bob Falfa (Harrison Ford, in a cowboy hat), is after Milner, looking to race. The movie climaxes at sunrise as this breathtaking race occurs. The potent moment after the race is a deflation, as it becomes apparent just what a waste this all is… how inconsequential. These characters have reached a checkpoint between frivolous, carefree youth and looming adulthood. Out of everyone in this great cast, only Clark received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. It received five nominations in all, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing. George's next movie was a little thing called Star Wars.