American Graffiti

A series of touching and effective vignettes, AMERICAN GRAFFITI presents a powerful collage of youth on the brink of maturity during the innocence of pre-Kennedy-assassination America. The film, set in 1962, follows one night in the lives of several recently graduated high school students. The genial Steve (Ron Howard) prepares to leave for college the next day, and Laurie (Cindy Williams), his girlfriend, is upset by his departure. Laurie's brother, Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), the class intellectual, is also slated for college, but he has serious doubts about his future. Also featured are the hopeless nerd (Charles Martin Smith) and the eternally cool drag racer, John (Paul LeMat), who feels pressure to live up to his reputation. In one of the many subtle, funny scenes, John, after the school dance, picks up chatty 13-year-old Carol (Mackenzie Phillips), thinking she's older than she is. Cruising in their hot rods, eating at Mel's Diner, and listening to Wolfman Jack spin the latest hits, the teenagers draw the audience into a nostalgic web in which the camera jumps from character to character as they each enjoy--or stress over--their last moments of summer freedom. Based on George Lucas's own teenage hot-rodding days in Modesto, California, this brilliant, bittersweet comedy inspired numerous other productions including the long-running TV series HAPPY DAYS. Lucas's second feature, AMERICAN GRAFFITI features an early screen appearance by Harrison Ford, who would figure heavily into the director's next movie, the sci-fi epic STAR WARS.