Image by Please Don't sell My Artwork AS IS from Pixabay Another film from the book “1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die” by Steven Jay Schneider that I expected to enjoy but ended up disappointing me is the 1973 coming-of-age comedy from George Lucas: American Graffiti.
[NOTE: This blog will contain spoilers for “American Graffiti.” You have been warned.] The History While making his directorial debut THX 1138, George Lucas (Star Wars) was convinced by fellow director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) to try to make his next film appeal more to the mainstream. Lucas was even more persuaded by this proposition following the box-office flop that THX 1138 became, and was inspired by his teenage years cruising around with his friends in Modesto for his next screenplay. While writing the script with husband-and-wife duo Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz (Lucky Lady, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), Lucas struggled to secure financing for the project as many studios worried about the costs of licensing music would cause the budget of the project to skyrocket. But when THX 1138 premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1971, Lucas met then-president of United Artists David Picker who was intrigued by Lucas’s pitch for American Graffiti and gave him ten thousand dollars to develop the screenplay. As Huyck and Katz shifted their focus to another project, Lucas hired Richard Walter to finish it. Upon returning to America, Lucas read Walter’s script and was dismayed by his exploitative approach to the subject finding the script to be oversexualized and ungrounded. Even though Walter rewrote his initial draft, Lucas fired him due to creative differences. Out of money, Lucas spent the next three weeks writing his own draft but United Artists rejected the script due to the potential music licensing costs and feeling that the film was too experimental. Lucas spent the next couple of years being turned away by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, and 20th Century Fox (to name a few) until Universal Pictures expressed interest. They also agreed to allow Lucas artistic control and final cut privilege over the film in exchange for Lucas shooting the film on a strict budget. While Universal involved themselves very little in the production process (largely due to its low-budget nature and the studio’s lack of faith in its potential success), they did suggest over 60 alternative titles due to their befuddlement over what the phrase “American Graffiti” meant. Ultimately, Lucas resisted any suggestions and kept the title as is. Initially hesitant to release Lucas’s coming-of-age film in theaters, Universal Pictures wanted to restrict it to television but eventually relented. American Graffiti received a wide domestic release in August of 1973, and ended up grossing 140 million dollars on a budget of less than 800,000 dollars. It also received universal acclaim critics, who lauded its lean narrative and capturing of a moment in culture through such a nostalgic lens. The Cons To be clear, I am a great admirer for the creative mind of George Lucas. The original Star Wars trilogy are three of my favorite films of all time (with the 1977 megahit being my absolute favorite). And knowing that he directed American Graffiti, I was cautiously optimistic when I sat down to watch it. I understood it to be one of the first modern looks at adolescence on film prior to the heyday of the flicks of John Hughes. That being said, the movie just did not work for me. I found it tedious, unengaging, and dripping with nostalgia for a time and place that I have absolutely no emotional attachment to. By the end, I forgot my optimism from before and was simply disappointed by how soulless American Graffiti felt. I wanted Lucas to successfully transport me to a specific time and place and, ultimately, force me to fall in love with the setting and characters. And he simply was unable to do that for me. Perhaps that’s my own fault, but I firmly believe that if American Graffiti was a great film that it would have succeeded at doing what it needed to do to make me care about what was going on. Maybe it is now disadvantaged by being the inaugural film in the “slacker” genre that later directors, from John Hughes to Richard Linklater, refined and made at least mildly more entertaining (if not far more so). The Pros For me, the only memorable aspect of American Graffiti was the appearance of Harrison Ford. I enjoyed his scenes with the other teenage characters, and it was kind of fun seeing a pre-Han Solo Ford on screen. But, that’s pretty much it. So, what are my final impressions of American Graffiti? If you are looking for a film that offers a narrow examination of adolescent cruising culture of the 1970s West Coast, then this film is for you. For me, however, I was sorely disappointed by my viewing and cannot offer any sort of recommendation to my fellow cinephiles. What do you think about American Graffiti? Do you think I am being too harsh on it? What opinions of mine do you find absolutely ridiculous? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, this has been… Yours Truly, Amateur Analyst
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Austin McManusI have no academic or professional background in film production or criticism; I simply love watching and talking about movies. Archives
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