American Graffiti (1973) [PG] *****

It's the last night of summer in 1962, in California's Central Valley. High school graduates Curt Henderson and Steve Bolander are scheduled to leave for college on the East Coast the following morning, and they're looking forward to one last night of fun and freedom. Curt (played by Richard Dreyfuss) is beginning to have his doubts about college, however, while Steve (played by Ron Howard) is determined to leave, and has decided to break up with his girlfriend Laurie (played by Cindy Williams). Meanwhile high school dropout John Milner (played by Paul Le Mat) cruises the strip in his yellow '32 Ford coupe trying to pick up girls, while Terry Toad Fields (played by Charles Martin Smith) cruises in Steve's white '58 Chevy Impala, picking up Debbie (played by Candy Clark) by telling her she looks like singing star Connie Stevens.

Co-written by George Lucas, Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, and directed by George Lucas, this iconic film features an incredible rock-and-roll soundtrack and a stellar ensemble cast, including supporting roles by Mackenzie Phillips, Harrison Ford, Bo Hopkins, and Wolfman Jack. Shot on a limited budget in less than a month, American Graffiti is a time-capsule of what it was like to grow up in California in the late '50s and early '60s, in the era of car cruising and rural road drag-racing, and the film remains a timeless, classic depiction of that innocent era before the Vietnam War.

Labels: auto-racing, comedy, drama, high-school, rom-com-faves, romance, Sixties, teenager
Internet Movie Database 7.5/10
MetaScore (critics=97, viewers=78)
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=85, viewers=80) 
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An excellent film review by Joe Valdez for thisdistractedglobe.com dated Aug. 5, 2008.