"The Graduate" (1967)

This is an incredibly unique picture. It is unpredictable and au courant. it is funny, sad, awkward, human, painful and different; the makings of a great picture. It is a comedy, but a serious one. there is no slapstick humor or fast-talking, punch-line comedic actors. this is not a one-trick-pony type of film. it uses humans as it's scource of comedy which had not been used before. it is easy to say that Dustin Hoffman is one of the greatest actors of all time and this is the first film to explore and show his talents. This is a strange topic and i could see how many people might not like it. it makes you feel uncomfortable at times because Hoffman's character is so painfully awkward. and we want to reach out to him and shake him and say "what the hell are you doing" and how to fix his life. that's the tactic that is so expertly utilized. we learn a lot about human inhibitions and what the other side of the human persona is like which we sometimes don't want to see. that is why some audiences didn't like it- because it was such a strange comedy. that is what i love about it.

So we have our recently graduated Ben Braddock. everyone has HUGE expectations from him; especially his parents. we see, most explicitly, at the party thrown for him, that he doesn't have big expectations for himself. Hi parents at his party are trying to literally sell their son as if he was a buisness deal. his father even bought him a new convertable that was really another sign of pushing him away. the party consists of people that are much older than him (in which some try to get him intrested in their own buisnesses). one woman is the Braddock's long time friend and neighbors who have known Ben his whole life. These are the infamous Robinson's who you probably have heard many references to. Mrs. Robinson, Anne Bancroft, is a bit younger thyan her huband who is not present. she is seductive and has that sensual look in her eye. as we see from the party, Ben is quite the intravert and although the party is for him, he goes in and out and talks to about no one. they all ask about his plans but since he has none, he just ducks out. Mrs. Robinson has Ben drive her home and insists on him coming in. this is the famous scene in which Mrs. Robinson "tries to seduce [him]". she fails but tries many times. Then Mr. Robinson comes in and after a brief awkward talk Ben gets out. Then Ben instigates the affair and they have several hook-ups in a hotel; these are other incredibly painful but comic scenes. Ben's father is also pushing him to go to graduate school but he does not seem interested and then his parents become frustrated with him. there is so much more to the story including Ben's relastionship with Mrs. Robinson's daughter Elaine played by Katherine Ross. this is such a well designed and devised film.

Anne Bancroft's performance is astounding and i think she should have won the Oscar but Kathrine Hepburn was great in "Guess Who's Coming Home for Dinner?" but she would have gotten two others. she was so gorgeous in the film and played the part with such command. her presence was so grand and yet quirky almost like Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday" in 1953. Hoffman is as i've said amazing and had an amazing career to follow in films such as "Kramer vs. Kramer" in 1979 and "Tootsie" in 1982. this is what launced his career and continued the director's Mike Nichols. Nichols is obviously one of the most unique and visually adept directors of all time. the cinematography, especially in the 'scuba scene' is revolutionary. it is no "Gone with the Wind" (but that was 1939) but how it used many POV shots to show how Hoffman felt and some long-takes to symbolize Hoffman's boredom was ingenious. this is a great teen flick but you have to be the right kind of teen to '"get it". you have to really, to quote one of my favorites "To Kill a Mockingbird" of 1962, "climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."

Academy Awards, USA
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1968	Won	Oscar	Best Director Mike Nichols
	Nominated	Oscar	Best Actor in a Leading Role Dustin Hoffman
			Best Actress in a Leading Role Anne Bancroft
			Best Actress in a Supporting Role Katharine Ross
			Best Cinematography Robert Surtees
			Best Picture Lawrence Turman
			Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Calder Willingham Buck Henry