American Graffiti (1973)

Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) and Steve (Ron Howard) have gotten into a prestigious college, but Curt is having second thoughts on the night before they're going to leave for the school. Hilarity ensues as that night, Curt searches relentlessly for a spellbinding woman in a white T-Bird while Steve tries to patch things up with his girlfriend, Laurie (Cindy Williams) after suggesting they date other people while he's away. Their two other friends John (Paul Le Mat) and Terry (Charles Martin Smith) also have a wild night, John when he's forced to chauffeur a little girl (Mackenzie Philips) and Terry when he borrows Steve's car and picks up a girl (Candy Clark) but then has trouble living up to the expectations set by the car.

Trivia: License plate on John Milner's car is "THX-138". THX 1138 (1971) is a film also directed by George Lucas. This number can be seen somewhere in just about every movie directed by George Lucas. Harrison Ford was asked to cut his hair for the film. He refused, stating that his role was too short, and offered to wear a hat instead. When Charles Martin Smith pulls up on the Vespa in the beginning, his crash into the building wasn't scripted. He genuinely lost control of the bike, and Lucas kept the cameras rolling. The Mel's Drive-in restaurant in the movie had been closed and was reopened specifically for filming. It was demolished after the movie was completed. There is a rumor that while George Lucas and a co-worker were editing the film, the co-worker asked Lucas for "reel two, dialogue two", which abbreviated to R2-D2, a name which surfaced in Lucas' later film, Star Wars. The film's budget was exactly $777,777.77, and it was delivered on time - and on budget. Dissatisfied with the name "American Graffiti", producers Francis Ford Coppola and Ned Tanen suggested that George Lucas retitle it "Another Slow Night in Modesto" or "Rock Around the Block".

Wow, as with Diner, I was sitting there wondering how Lucas got the cast that he did. Richard Dreyfuss, Rod Howard, Cindy Williams, Charles Martin Smith, Harrison Ford, Paul Le Mat. It really makes you wonder how the only Oscar acting nomination it got was for Candy Clark. The 45 songs from the sound track are pure gold. American Graffiti did help Robin Williams win an Oscar though. Did I just here a collective "WHAT?!"? Yes, I am serious, and here is my reasoning. American Graffiti came out and was a huge success. Because of this the TV series Happy Days with Ron Howard was created. Happy Days was a huge success. One of the episodes included an alien named Mork, played by Robin Williams. The character of Mork was so well received, that they created a whole series around him, Mork and Mindy. Robin Williams was released on an unsuspecting nation. Williams started to get cast in movies, first as Popeye and other comedic roles, but then in more substantial roles in Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poet's Society, and The Fisher King, all of which won him Oscar Nominations. He was then cast as Sean McGuire in Good Will Hunting were he won the Oscar, all thanks to American Graffiti.