American Graffiti
- Review Crew
- Mar 17, 2021
- 2 min read
By Nate Fingeret
I found American Graffiti to be very relatable. I spent my last night before college chilling in a hot tub with my closest friends, reminiscing about the past, looking forward to the future, and I got extreme cold feet. I almost did not go to school. So this movie really touched me. In the movie, a group of friends spend their last day of summer before heading off to college, hanging out, driving down the Sunset Strip, and one of the guy’s has extremely cold feet about going to college, leaving home, leaving his girlfriend, starting the next chapter.
This movie definitely had a strong influence on Richard Linklater and inspired him to make Dazed and Confused, which is extremely similar and is maybe my favorite coming of age film. Movies like American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused really make me think about what life could have been like if I had grown up back then (especially for American Graffiti). I have always wondered what it would have been like to grow up during a time, without social media, without the internet, and without phones (for the most part). I wish I had a time machine sometimes just to get a whiff of that experience, having a designated hang out spot you meet up with your friends at everyday after school, having a soda for a nickel, and watching my Yankees win the World Series every year.
A few other notes. One, it was cool to see George Lucas work on a low budget. I love seeing these big directors early work on a low budget and see how they have built to what they became. Scorsese had Mean Streets, Tarantino had Reservoir Dogs, Lucas had American Graffiti. Another thing, I enjoyed seeing a young, unknown Harrison Ford. It was weird to see him in a movie and not be a headliner or have a prominent role, because he was not Harrison Ford yet. Harrison Ford in American Graffiti is like a lesser known, not as great, Matthew McConaughey in Dazed and Confused. Lastly, Richard Dreyfuss’ character really reminded me a lot of a young, more put together George Costanza, just thought I would throw that out there.
I am definitely going to Mel’s Diner the next time I’m in LA.
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