The Graduate

Rating:
Summary: Does not even belong in the top 10,000 Films of all time
Review: I'm going through the list of AFI Top 100 movies, and for the most part it has been very enjoyable. I was pleasantly surprised with titles like "All About Eve", "A Clockwork Orange", and "On the Waterfront". Even the movies I didn't like weren't terrible, just not my kind of films. When I got to "The Graduate", my enthusiasm for this effort was stopped dead cold.

I did not like one thing about this movie. (Okay, Simon and Garfunkel's music... fine.) What I saw was two of the most shallow, childish, and flat-out boring lead characters I'd ever seen in Mrs. Robinson and Benjamin. Mrs. Robinson also had the added bonus of being especially hateful without any specific motivation. Benjamin was not just too polite to tell her to get lost - he was spineless. A vindictive bat and a jellyfish... how did this seem like a good idea? Katherine Ross looks lovely as Elaine, but she's barely one-dimensional. Maybe if Ben had been trying to get back at Mrs. Robinson, his interest in Elaine would have made some kind of sense. As it is, it seems like some third grade infatuation with the girl next door. Grow up, Ben...

The movie spirals from bad to worse after Ben goes to whatever college (Berkeley?) to "marry" Elaine. The events go from being contrived to nonsensical. How did Elaine and later her father find the house where Ben lived? Why did ANYBODY believe Mrs. Robinson as much as she lied and manipulated? And my favorite, why did Ben let his car run out of gas when he had just been at a gas station? I know why, because some writer thinks it would be funny if he ran to the church instead of drove. As for the ending... well, I was so glad the movie was over, I kinda liked it. Maybe because it reminded me of an episode on "The Simpsons".

Had I been alive in 1967... I probably still wouldn't have liked it. I might have understood the context better. This movie is really bad, and I hope it is a blip on the screen in the judgment of the voters for the AFI Top 100 list. Vote "Not Helpful" if you wish, but I'm usually positive about films in general. I just didn't like "The Graduate".

Rating:
Summary: The Graduate
Review: In the end, The Graduate is a film about the search for true happiness and the stress that comes along with it. The film's hero, Benjamin Braddock is fresh out of colledge and has no clue about what to do with his life. At his own Graduation party he is approached by a woman who is twice his age named Mrs. Robbinson. She's a friend of the families and asks Benjamin if she could get a ride home in his new car. He dosen't want to at first but is soon forced into by Mrs. Robbinson. When they get to her house, Benjamin goes in for a drink. Soon, Mrs. Robbinson attempts to seduce Benjamin by stripping naked infront of him. Thus begins The Graduate.
This is a wonderful film with superb performances from all the players. Dustin Hoffman is great as an immature annoying geek Benjamin, Anne Bancroft exellent as the sexy yet bad tempered Mrs. Robbinson and Katherin Ross is very sweet as Elaine Robbinson, who is basicaly the only sane character in the film.
Buck Henry and Calder Willingham provide a very tight script that hardly ever get's away from it's intatinoal purpose. Mike Nichols, a wonderful comic director, does some great camera angels. He's an actors director and it defiently shows.
The Simon and Garfunkle soundtrack is featured when the film shows it's montages. It's fits perfecty with the movie and Benjamin's state of mind.
Some complain that The Graduate has lost some of it's original shock and I agree, but you know what? I love it. It's a film I can go back to many times and still enjoy. Maybe you will too.

Rating:
Summary: Dustin Hoffman at his best
Review: I just loved Dustin Hoffman here... Adorably naive, intelligent yet uncertain about a future, confused, vulnerable.. he'll remind you of at least one guy back in college. This movie is full of little laughs--not laugh-out-loud humor--but enjoyable nonetheless. Though the movie may seem quite old, the subject matter is timeless and still relatable... that time after you finished college and you're suddenly thrust into the real world, and gotta make all these decisions, yet you're unsure about where you wanna go... Dustin Hoffman evokes all these post-college emotions that you can't help but emphasize with him. How he deals with these pressures through his escapades with Mrs. Robinson is even funnier to watch. The ultimate coming-of-age movie. See it for pure enjoyment, and you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Still Crazy After All These Years
Review: This movie is not quite as exciting as it was when many of us first saw it in 1967, but it's still well worth seeing again and again. Anne Bancroft is perfect as the seducing older married woman, and Dustin Hoffman in his first staring role is every bit the hesitant, mumbling seductee-- if that's a word-- and looks all of 18 although I believe he was actually 30 when he made this movie.

It's easy to see that the director Mike Nichols came to movies from the stage. Particularly effective is his use of repeated images to give the movie form-- the scenes with stockings, the swimming pool, the aquarium, for instance. And "plastics" and "wood or wire" have become a part of our national vocabulary. (Nichols does however, hit you over the head with his imagery when Hoffman grabs that cross near the end of the movie.)

One final thing: while I love the music of Paul Simon, with the exception of "Mrs. Robinson," I didn't understand what those other great songs had to do with the theme of this movie in 1967 and I don't know now. Nevertheless, everyone should see this movie at least once to know what the 60's were all about.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite Dustin Hoffman movie.
Review: "The Graduate" is one of the best movies ever made and it is my favorite Dustin Hoffman movie. Hoffman (Oscar-nominated) stars as Benjamin "Ben" Braddock, a young man, who just got home from college and is confused about what he is going to do in the future. Mrs. Robinson, played by Anne Bancroft (Oscar-nominated), seduces Braddock and wants him to have an affair with her. But, later, Braddock falls in love with Robinson's daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross, in her Oscar-nominated role), instead. Mike Nichols won the Oscar for Best Director, but the fact is that this movie lost the Best Picture Oscar to "In The Heat Of The Night" in 1967 is probably a big disappointment just like "Raging Bull" lost to "Ordinary People" in 1980. I have this movie on DVD and I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A REAL Film Classic
Review: I normally do not review films. I don't consider myself a "movie-nut" or anything like that. But, there are exceptions. The Graduate is truly a classic work of filmmaking. The acting by all is top-notch. The chemistry/tension between Benjamin and Mrs.Robinson is absolutely amazing. Ben encapsulates in his character what almost everyone has felt at that point in their lives - the lack of direction, the loneliness, confusion,etc. I also like the fact that the end is not a pretty, happy-ever-after kind of thing. Although he does get the girl, the expressions on their faces betray a bit of insecurity and uneasiness. I found that to be very realistic. Such is life. It is rarely 100% good. An astounding piece of work. Yes, it is old, and those weaned on Adam Sandler movies will find it slow and uninteresting, missing the finer points of true acting and great directing at its finest. Classic.

Rating:
Summary: A True Must-See Movie
Review: This is probably my very favorite movie. And if you've read any of my other reviews, you're saying, "Oh, yeah, cuz she's obsessed with Simon and Garfunkel." Well, I must admit that I first saw it for the outstanding soundtrack (which really is reason enough), but the movie itself exceeded all my exprectations. It's perfect: unconventional, darkly funny, honest, odd, with the perfect music and about a million lines that are regularly quoted at my home. ("No, it's completely baked.") Darn it, you could even say it's touching. But not in a smushy-mushy sort of way.
Anyway, there's really no need to go over the plot here, you probably know it: Grad student Benjamin gets sucked into Mrs. Robinson's web of sin, regrets it, falls for the daughter, gets everyone pissed off at him, but persists and--oh no I wo'nt ruin the ending. But it's awesome, the best movie ending ever. Does this sound like a dumb romantic comedy? Well it's not, and I can assure you I LoAtHe romantic comedies. The dark look at the relation between youth and age, innocence and world-weariness, right and wrong and love and lust (and all these elements fit together perfectly) prevents it from falling into this category of mush. Its other saving grace is the constant undercurrent of humor, in Dustin Hoffman's magnificent deadpan and the personalities of the minor characters. The element of humor is indescribable, being somewhat unconventional, but in the end is probably the funniest (and saddest even) movie I have ever seen.
I must, I fear, discuss the music for a moment. The S&G soundtrack is so distinctive, as the only songs in the movie are by them and each song is used several times. However, this never gets tedious, just helps to reveal hidden truths in the characters and their emotions. It's a beautiful juxtaposition. The music really embodies the movie, and especially "The Sound of Silence" and "Mrs. Robinson." "Sound" is an utterly dark and tragic song, lamenting the lack of true and honest human contact that becomes a major theme in the movie. "Mrs. Robinson" is a slightly odd, humorous song, but with an undercurrent of reality in thinking about the loss of youth.
And so everything in this movie adds up. It's entertaning, somewhat groundbreaking for its time, moving, balanced, serious and at the same time absolutely hilarious. It's so original, and the perfect performances of Hoffman and Bancroft really carry the whole film. This is really a movie for anyone; despite the subject matter it's not really to risque (but if you want risqu-osity it IS there), and any film lover will adore it. Buy it, watch it again, have a blast from the past or see for the first time one of the greatest movies ever! Show the kids! (Well, maybe later...)
Just as an afterthought: it just struck me that for some reason this movie in particular seems like it would make a really good gift...or maybe that's just because I covet it...hahaha. No I'm not really trying to sell it, but around this time of year it seems pertinant...

Rating:
Summary: Things To Look For!
Review: Before I re-hash the plot again, there are a few items to look for...the cameos by Norman Fell as the landlord, Richard Dreyfuss as a student living in Fell's house and Mike Farrell (B.J. on MASH) as a bellboy in the hotel. Farrell walks by and speaks to Hoffman so quickly you may have to freeze frame to see him, but you can't mistake his voice! The DVD includes an interview with Hoffman who shows extreme interest in making a sequel; his idea of what it should be is VERY interesting...I'd like to see it get made! Katharine Ross is interviewed as well and she still looks great. Buck Henry is interviewed and he looks THE SAME! I'm sure you know the plotline by now...grad Benjamin Braddock returns home all confused about his future...he's so messed up he allows Mrs. Robinson to seduce him; later he falls in love with her daughter which causes the old hag to become jealous and threaten Benjamin a few times throughout the rest of the flick...this has one of the all-time greatest endings to ANY movie ever filmed. I rewind and watch this ending over and over again, it's so freakin' cool. This is a great, vital, classic film.

Rating:
Summary: Higher Education
Review: The Graduate is a touchstone film. Released in 1967, it defined the 60's youth generation. As recent college graduate Benjamin Braddock is told at a pool party, the future is plastics. The movie portrays the coming of age, sexual freedom and wayward view of the young adults of the 60's, the almost plastic existence of their future. Dustin Hoffman stars as Benjamin and it is his breakout role. He was thirty years old when he filmed the picture, but he perfectly captures the youthful, naïve essence of the part. Anne Bancroft vamps it up as Mrs. Robinson who seduces Benjamin. Ms. Bancroft brings a sexy and sultry flair to the film and her role as a sexual predator was stunning at the time. A third star of the film is the soundtrack by Simon & Garfunkel. Their music is liberally intertwine throughout the film, the opening sequence set to "The Sounds Of Silence" is dead on and the use "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" adds a longing, somber note to the picture. Of course the movie produced the number one hit "Mrs. Robinson" which won a Grammy as Record of the Year in 1968. The film was just the second that Mike Nichols directed. His first was Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf, which was departure from his comedic background. The Graduate is closer to his comedy roots, but he perfectly balances out the humor with dramatic moments. He won the Oscar for Best Director in 1967 and The Graduate still remains his crowning moment.

Rating:
Summary: The most overrated American movie ever made
Review: I watched The Graduate with my copy of the screenplay, which made this inexplicably revered movie seem even more inane. There's far less here than meets the eye, even when Mrs. Robinson displays her shank. You've been told for so long The Graduate is such a gound-breaking, definitive movie that you don't actually watch it critically anymore. In fact, Dustin Hoffman's brooding, self-absorbed, anti-hero, victimized character can been seen as the starting point in the decline of American culture. From men who once tamed the wilderness (John Wayne) we have now, especially in the media but elsewhere, fully feminized, whiny guys. Look at your TV and it's one Dustin Hoffman after another. And in its mocking, sneering contempt for mainstream America, this movie also broke ground in the snooty "Hollywood vs. America" mindset that makes so much media seem like a slap in your face. I love Sixties movies but this one's bottom of the barrel. Wow, saying that really makes me a radical and counter-culture!!