American Graffiti

For most of my adult life, when anyone would ask me, "What's your favorite movie?," I would inevitably respond, "American Graffiti." In fact, I still use it as a standby, though narrowing my favorite to one is a tough thing to do. One night back in the 90's my lifelong friend and cousin Jeremy and I attended a double feature of "Jaws" and this film in an art house in Pasadena. That night was just another important stop in my journey of loving movies. It also solidified this movie's place in my heart.

The movie (directed by George Lucas, just before he directed "Star Wars") mainly follows the adventures of four young people the last night before two of them (Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfuss) go off to college. The other two principals are an undergraduate and grizzled dragster who has left his youthful idealism behind. The movie follows their adventures this one night as they cruise the streets, order fries, play pranks, and avoid the local authorities.

As such, the movie does not have much of a plot. Instead, it mainly is an evocative work. Every scene takes us back in time to our own youth, even though all of us did not graduate from high school in 1962. I primarily identify with Curt, played by a youthful Richard Dreyfuss. His anxieties about the future seem so familiar, but he has the ability to weave his way through many different high school cliques-something I would like to think I did as well. Steve (Ron Howard) was the class president and has decided he must shake the dust off his crummy hometown and head on to bigger things. One problem...he is desperately in love with Laurie, and in then end he has to decide if his love for her will overcome his ambition. John Milner (Paul Le Mat) is the reigning race king of the Valley, and he is seeming older and he realizes time is not on his side as he is forced to cruise the streets with an underage girl. Terry (Charles Martin Smith) is the lovable nerd who inherits a wonderful car, successfully lands a blonde, and ends up playing an important role in the big race at the end of the movie. The vignettes in the film are too numerous to mention. My favorite involves Curt's run in with a local car gang. He is so out of place and yet manages to earn the gang's respect through an outrageous prank. And all of the film is held together by Wolfman Jack and incredible rock n' roll. The end of the movie leaves you feeling very much like the characters feel...tired, emotional, but realizing they had been through something special.

In the end, the movie is about certain feelings. The feelings are familiar to anyone who was young...hope, poignancy, fear, bravery, and, in the end...the realization that youth is fleeting. For Curt, he realizes he must follow his dream. For Steve, he realizes his place is with the woman he loves, even at the cost of his dreams. For John, he realizes his time is coming to an end, and in the end, changes nothing in spite of that. Terry realizes very little except that he needs to grow up. I have felt all of those things. But now that I am married and have 3 children, the emotions of the film become even greater. The comedy of the film is even funnier. And the end of the film is even more stark. Some movies are clearly just good or bad, while some really mean something to us. This movie will always mean something special to me.