The Graduate

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Summary: THE Coming of Age Movie
Review: This one is fantastic and very relevant even now a days. Dustin Huffman's breakout film has wonderful performances by all of the actors, a great story, beautiful filmography and a fantastic sound track by Simon and Garfunkle.

Rating:
Summary: not bad, but it doesn't speak to my generation
Review: I was very excited to finally watch "The Graduate," and indeed I found it engaging, well-paced, and well-acted...until the last half-hour. I found this last part, starting from where Ben goes to look for Elaine at Berkeley, contrived and a real disappointment. It's almost like two different films put together.

Think about it: Ben suddenly starts obsessing over this girl with whom he's had a total of *one* date with, then starts exhibiting stalker-like behavior toward her. Implausibly, this actually works on Elaine, and she starts showing interest in him. But instead of working on things like, say, getting to know her first, he instead starts pestering her about getting married immediately! What's his deal? I found him very creepy and unromantic during all this, and less in love with Elaine than unhealthily obsessed with her. As for her, she's still in college and hardly knows him. What's she thinking?

I guess all that setup is necessary for the generational showdown at the film's climax, when Ben drags off his love from her wedding ceremony with another man. So it looks like the young people win the battle of the generations, but what is the message there? Is it: you older people can try to stop me, but I'll just take whatever I want anyway? Ben strikes me as less of an non-conforming rebel and more of a self-centered and immature brat (no baby boomer jokes here, please).

Now to be really sacrilegious: I love the songs of Simon and Garfunkel, but except for a few places, they don't really fit the directing style nor the content of this film. And do we really need to hear "Sound of Silence" three times?

There are some great things about "The Graduate": the directing and editing are excellent, Bancroft is amazing (the film needs her in the third act!), Hoffman is also very good, and their scenes together are the best parts of the film. It's also very funny in a dry, British-style of humor. It's too bad the film's final act had to ruin it for me.

I can see how this this film was embraced by an entire generation, but as a child of the 80s, not the 60s, it doesn't really speak deeply to me. A comparably cherished film from my generation might be "The Breakfast Club." Perhaps in 20 years, my kid will watch that film and have the same reaction that I had to "The Graduate"!

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Summary: "The Graduate" - The Film That Defined My Generation
Review: I don't know if every generation has one particular film that defines it, but Mike Nichols' "The Graduate" is the one which defines mine. This masterpiece, with its themes of alienation, idealism, social consciousness, cultural and generation gaps, and the extraordinary music of Simon & Garfunkel, brings back strong and poignant memories of life in the late 1960s and early '70s. Oddly enough, the specific issues which really separated generations, the Vietnam War, Civil Rights and the Women's Movement, are not mentioned here at all. Perhaps these matters were circumvented, even as points of reference, so that the movie would not become dated, or like "Easy Rider," be labeled as too revolutionary for the mainstream.

Benjamin Braddock, (superbly portrayed by Dustin Hoffman), has just graduated from college. A confused young man who is awkwardly making the transition between adolescence to adulthood, he is totally unsure of what to do with his future, let alone what to do next. As the film begins, the Braddocks are throwing a party for their son, the successful new grad. All his parents' financially secure and affluent friends are there to celebrate. Benjamin is not one of the happy participants, however. He returns to his room as if it were the womb, and watches the aquarium. It seems as if he longs for comfort and clarity, but doesn't know how to express himself or whom to ask. He attempts to talk with his father to no avail. He will spend much of the summer like this, contemplating the tropical fish and his future - which he sure doesn't want to be "in plastics." I always felt that someone should have told him about the Peace Corps ...but I digress.

Benjamin is expected to enter the bland suburban Californian society that his folks move in, filled with unhappy relationships, materialistic brinkmanship, and manicured lawns. He doesn't know what he wants to do, but he definitely knows what he doesn't want. Enter the famous Mrs. Robinson, and may I say BRAVO Anne Bancroft! Bored and unfulfilled, she is married to Benjamin's father's business partner. She obviously feels that Ben can temporarily alleviate her situation when she seduces him - or attempts to. He is initially unbelieving and reluctant, but persuadable. Filled with self-loathing, he continues the affair, which only punctuates his ineptness and his emptiness.

Elaine Robinson, (Katherine Ross), daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, is about to come home from college. Benjamin is forbidden to date her, by his lover, who happens to be her mother. Talk about incestuous! Of course the now jaded Benjamin and the fresh, lovely Elaine will go out, fall in love, and you'll have to see the movie for the rest. The conclusion is brilliant.

Anne Bancroft, in her gorgeous prime, is perfect as Mrs. Robinson. She is also sad, sarcastic, manipulative, at times really b*tchy, brittle in her beauty, and vulnerable in the role. If it were real life I would have asked her what she was doing with the virginal nerd, when she could do so much better!

The film holds up so well today, not only because of the brilliant acting, direction and screenplay, but because the Graduate's problems are not dissimilar from what many youths experience now. Nichols won the Best Director award for this movie. His pacing is fluid, and his imagery metaphorical, at times chillingly so. Writers Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, (working from Charles Webb's novel), did a remarkable job with their satirical, off-beat screenplay. Simon and Garfunkel songs, including "Scarborough Fair" and "The Sounds of Silence," give the film a wonderful lyrical tone.

A five-minute interview with Dustin Hoffman and a fascinating documentary "The Graduate at 25" make up the extra features on the DVD, along with a limited edition 64-page book with production notes and a collection of articles and reviews from the original theatrical release.

I remember watching "The Graduate" for the first time in 1968, and really relating. What can I say? I was young! Naive as this may sound, I did identify with the feelings stirred by the movie and performances. I still do, very much...no matter how retro. Now after almost 40 years, this is a classic!
JANA

Rating:
Summary: One Word: Perfection (Not "Plastics")
Review: Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) returns home from what most would consider a triumphant college experience. Head of the debating club, captain of track team, editor of the school paper and award-winning scholar, Ben creates envy in all his parents' friends, as none of them can imagine the angst and directionlessness that overwhelm him. Ben perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the late 1960s; it is no coincidence that he comes along at a time when the youth of America were searching for answers and questioning the world of their elders. The goals of his parents' social circle are not his goals. Their dreams, not his. Ben is not eager to make decisions that will map out the rest of his life, and is certainly not ready to jump into an exiting career in "plastics".

He is also not ready to jump into an affair with Mrs. Robinson, wife of Ben's father's longtime partner. But Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) has other plans. In a comically uncomfortable wooing, the middle-aged temptress toys with young Ben, making obvious passes and then feigning shock when Ben responds to her advances. Ben's confusion - heightened by an old-fashion respect for elders - culminates when he laughingly says, "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me," and with a puzzled look, then asks, "Aren't you?"

While the romance between Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson occupies an unequaled spot in American popular culture, it only establishes the real conflict of the film (the turmoil that develops when Benjamin falls for Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine). The latter half of the film sees Ben find the direction he lacks in the lost, lazy days that originally guided him toward Mrs. Robinson. He sees in her daughter the dreams and desires he so needs. As his past trysts with the elder socialite come to haunt him, Benjamin finds himself trapped between his hopes for the future and the actions of his past.

Watching "The Graduate" for the first time creates in a viewer a series of "oh, that's where that came from" moments, similar to reading "Hamlet" or watching "The Wizard of Oz" or "The Godfather". "The Graduate" forever altered the collective language and experience of our culture, and neophytes to the film will be shocked at how much of it they have already seen elsewhere (not just the content of the plot, but also the framing of shots, tricky editing, and the music of Simon & Garfunkel).


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Summary: Still Perceptive After All These Years...Funny, Shrewd Classic
Review: This is an accomplished film for someone directing only his second film. But then again, judging from his subsequent work all the way to "Angels in America" and "Closer", Mike Nichols seems to have come into filmmaking fully understanding the frailties of the human condition and knowing how to convey them in a way that audiences could empathize. "The Graduate" is one of those films that gravitates effortlessly to its audience even now, the aging Vietnam War-era population who championed anarchy and the people who revise their personal histories so they can think they were members of the now-fashionable counter-cultural movement. It is a testament to Nichols and screenwriters Buck Henry and Calder Willingham that the social comedy aspects of this film do not seem at all dated. In fact, despite its provocative veneer, it's really old-fashioned in key ways from the hero's moralistic tendencies to his romantically compulsive motivations toward the end.

Dustin Hoffman was pulled out of complete obscurity to play Benjamin, the alienated, recent college graduate drifting amid his parents' Southern California upper middle class, swimming pool-centered ennui. As he figures out what to do with his life and faces unwanted advice from his parents' friends, enter Mrs. Robinson, a bored, restless wife, a self-proclaimed alcoholic and about as sympathetic as Lady Macbeth. It's hard to imagine what the original choice, Doris Day, would have done with this role, as it takes Anne Bancroft's formidable arsenal of skills to bring this vituperative woman to life. She gives a masterful performance. The hotel sequence where Benjamin awkwardly asks Mrs. Robinson for a drink is sharply observed and hilarious - the suspicious hotel clerk (Henry, the film's co-screenwriter) eyeing Benjamin's every move; the reception line which Benjamin pretends to know (watch for TV veterans Alice Ghostley and Marion Lorne - Aunt Clara of "Bewitched" - make indelible marks here); and just the predatory Mrs. Robinson's business-like approach to seduction. Complicating matters exorbitantly is Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine, played with relative nonchalance by Katharine Ross. The film then turns into a revenge comedy with Mrs. Robinson trying to prevent the inevitable coupling of Benjamin and Elaine. She almost succeeds but not before a series of revelations and dramatic encounters that lead to the classic ending aboard the public bus. Some of the comedy and characterizations do seem a bit extreme, for example, Hoffman seems to amplify his character's nebbishness a few too many times, Elaine's fiancée appears like a textbook 1960's TV stereotype. There are also geographic gaffes which are obvious to me since I am a Berkeley alum and a San Francisco Bay Area native: the campus scenes are most certainly not filmed at Berkeley but at USC, Benjamin crosses the Bay Bridge in the wrong direction to hunt for Elaine. But these lapses are forgivable in light of Nichols' expert direction; the witty, observant script; and Simon and Garfunkel's distinctively dulcet tones. Strongly recommended after all these years.

Rating:
Summary: Every angle Covered
Review: In my junior year in high school, I finally decided to take the film study class. I was most impressed with the selection of films for the quarter. One was called "The Graduate," and I had never seen this popular film, but knew it was highly regarded. From the very first scene when Ben is on the airplane to the last scene on the bus, I could finally pick my favorite movie of all time. Directed by the acclaimed Mike Nichols and the screenplay written by Buck Henry, this film is based around Ben (Dustin Hoffman), a recent college graduate who returns home only to become even more confused about life and its obstacles. On his arrival, Mrs. Robinson ( Anne Bancroft), a friend of his parents for sometime seduces Ben in having an affair with each other. Ben continues to worry about his future, so he decides to engage in the opportunity. Later he is pressed with taking her daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross) on a date. All chaos ensues and Ben must try to solve what he has caused. An excellent plot and the timing is just right on. Simon and Garfunkel helped with the hit song "Mrs. Robinson" that was specifically for the movie. Although I am usually not a fan of zooming, Nichols using this effect masterfully. Definitely my favorite flick! "One word. Are you listening? Plastics." - Mr. Maguire

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Summary: The Graduate is magic
Review: I finally got around to seeing The Graduate after many years of wanting to. Let's face it, DVD's have really helped younger generations explore older titles, and in their original widescreen presentations too!

The Graduate ia about a young man (Dustin Hoffman) who is reaching manhood. He is unsure where he is going in life, and then life becomes very interesting for him when an older woman, Mrs Robinson, seduces him (Ann Bancroft). Mrs Robinson is a family friend with an attractive daughter (katherine Ross) whom Hoffman eventually goes after, much to the disapproval of Mrs Robinson.

Blessed with a beautiful Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack, this film is basically fun to watch from start to finish. Some reviewers have called it "dated", but that's actually what makes it so special. There are some great lines in the film, and some of them were used in a George Michael song "Too Funky".

The film has been restored beautifully for DVD. So clear, hard to believe it is from 1967.

Overall, The Graduate is an enjoyable film, worth renting or buying.

Rating:
Summary: What can I say...Dustin Hoffman rules.
Review: This is sort of a romantic/dark comedy/drama. Dustin Hoffman does such a good job in this film, his voice is just so perfect for the part...it's sort of fun just listening to it. I rented this film right(well not right after but) after I saw Zach Braff's "Garden State" which is now my new favorite film, I read an article that compared the two movies, you can see the similarities in the two films "Garden State"is more or less "The Graduate" of generation Y

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Summary: American Beauty Prequel
Review: Mike Nichols went from a successful career as a comedian to a successful career as a filmmaker. He was smart, funny and pointed in his view of American life.

Buck Henry, the screenwriter, is no less brilliant. This collaboration was magical and influenced a generation of movies. Its greatest irony, though, is that "the counterculture" embraced the film as an anti-establishment statement. Actually, it's not.

Viewing it today can be seen as "dated," but it also allows us to separate the social themes of 1967 (especially Viet Nam) from the appeal to the universal. As Ross Perot, used to say, look, it's simple:

1. Sex can be exploitative. Mrs. Robinson has to have Ben because she is a self-confessed alcoholic who is also a sex addict. She seems to have no more respect or affection for Ben than she would for a vibrator; in fact, she's openly contemptuous of him.

2. Romance can be narcissism. Ben wants Elaine because he sees "a better Ben" in her eyes. He doesn't know the first thing about her except that he likes himself better when he's with her. We fall in love with ourselves when we fall in love, and are denied the clarity of accurate self-perception just when we need it most.

3. The literary impulse to romance proposed can seal the illusion. Elaine leaves with Ben and gets on the bus; Nichols' mastery is to show the two of them, at length, not interacting with one another at all, but staring blankly at the people and world around them, dazed. Elaine did not run to Ben; she ran away from what she had a vague idea that she did not want. In life we can run away from things, run toward things, or quit running and confront ourselves.

Elaine remains a lovely cypher thoughout this movie. When it's done, we know nothing more about her than when the film started.

Ben grows up: did you ever think that "American Beauty" could, with minimal stretching, be the story of Ben and Elaine a generation later?

We're condemned to live the consequences of our freedom.

Rating:
Summary: The Graduate (1967)
Review: The graduate is one of the most appealing comedies of all time. Dustin Hoffman gives a truly spectacular performance as a young college graduate who unsure about his future. The movie will have you on an emotional roller coaster ride that'll last forever. You'll be laughing at how Hoffman makes a fool out of himself when he's on a date with an older woman, yet crying when Hoffman finds himself trying to win back the love of his life. I really can't see why anyone would hate this film, so I would highly recommend this to anyone that likes movies.