Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.

nuraido and I (and our roommate who doesn't post to this blog, so she doesn't get mentioned) watched The Graduate tonight. And I would like to point out that you should see this movie. For the following reasons (which nuraido helped on a bit....):

a) You should see this movie simply because of the overwhelming number of screenplay references that it contains. It's amazing. Some of the most famous cinematography ever occurs in the first five minutes of the movie.

To see the rest, make the jump....



b) nuraido and I are in agreement: This movie is the birth of the romantic comedy. It is somewhat amazing to me to finally have discovered the origin of what I consider to be a trite plot line, repeated ad infinitum. Stalker-like behavior for some reason inexplicably elicits the love of the stalk-ee in the movie, whereas in real life he should be serving time.

c) nuraido would like to point out that she thinks the romantic comedy a poingant and beautiful tribute to a grandiose gesture of romance, followed by a realization that two people are truly meant to be. She loves this shit. She's also been drinking.

d) Mr. Feeney (the principal from Boy Meets World) aged poorly. You will finally recognize this. This is for you, ladies -- you know you think he's a slammin' hottie. Man, you should have seen him with a mustache in 1969. And, he's got a hot zebra wife to boot.

e) Dustin Hoffman is a terrible kisser in this movie. I say this about his acting in the role, rather than about him in reality. He's actually an amazing kisser in real life.

f) As an aside, he drives a sweet car in the movie, and is still a terrible kisser. I only point this out because I drive an awesome car, and it calls into question my kissing skills. This realization fills me with terror. (Also, Joey's car is awesome. However, that doesn't worry me as much.)

g) Who am I kidding? I'm a great kisser. I think we can all agree that I'm amazing, and no one should kiss Joey. Let's just move on.

h) Remember the scene from The Simpsons, when Grandpa rolls out with Marge's mom in the schoolbus, and then "Hello Darkness" plays as they drive away? You'll finally get the reference. If you don't remember the scene, you'll finally be able to pretend you know the Simpsons reference.

i). That hot waitress should totally hit as much latin ass as possible. Can I get an amen. (This has nothing to do with the movie. She's just extremely hot in the real world, and recently moved to Spain.)

j) nuraido would like to point out that all of the existential scenes from Garden State are straight up stolen from this movie, although the jury's still out on whether Dustin Hoffman (circa 1969) or Zach Braff are hotter.

k) She's retarded. The answer to her question is clear (and wouldn't you like to know what my answer is...)

l) In high school, we all loved The Lemonheads. Now, you can finally truly appreciate how incredible their version of Mrs. Robinson actually is. Because you will become tired of the Simon and Garfunkel version rather quickly while watching this movie.

m) On a related note, Simon and Garfunkel suck. They had apparently only written 3 songs by 1969, and they are played over and over again throughout the movie (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme? Really? And what the hell is Scarsburough Fair?)

n) On a final musical note, we do a lot of things wrong with movies nowadays. And while we've got nothing on writing, character development, or nuance compared with the days of yore, we have certainly mastered the musical montage. Tip your music editors, people. Seriously. There's nothing worse than a montage involving a song that sucks, followed immediately with an identical montage with the same freaking song!!! What the hell?

o) For all the men out there: have you ever been with a woman, and felt awkward as hell and didn't know what you were doing? If so, the first half of the movie will make you squirm and laugh. So will parts of the second half.

p) For all the ladies out there: have you ever been with a man, who was awkward as hell and didn't know what he was doing? If so, the first half of the movie will make you squirm and laugh. So will parts of the second half.

q) For all the men and the women out there: God willing that hapened when you were younger. If not, pull your shit together.

r) In short, references to The Graduate permeate our culture, but it's not what you think. This movie actually surprises you. It'll crack you up, and it'll fill in a lot of gaps in your understanding of our cultural history. But the impression that I had (and probably the one you have) is incorrect. It's only part of the movie, which makes it fascinating.

s) nuraido would like to point out that, after mathgimp accidentally unplugged his computer and lost this entire post, she was able to recreate it in under 15 minutes from memory. Not only that, she improved the quality and the witticisms immensely.

t) In all honesty, nuraido didn't improve my post. However, I really wouldn't have bothered rewriting it after everything got deleted. I think all of us owe her a drink. Particularly me, but I'm passing the buck on to you, the reader. Admit it, you enjoyed reading this. Buy nuraido booze!!!!



Despite some of the above bitching, this movie is remarkable. It's Dustin Hoffman's first role in a film, and it's the birth of a genre. We all liked it a lot. Go rent it today. Or steal it, if that's what you're in to.




PS - You should also watch Full Metal Jacket, what with all of the the cultural references. And Aliens, too. They're also amazing.

PPS - Glengarry Glen Ross may be a famous movie, but it's freaking awful. Don't bother. There's nothing to see here. Keep it moving.

PPPS - nuraido would like to point out that The Land Before Time is also genre defining (apparently). It's absolutely a cultural icon. The Hudsucker Proxy is not as scary as its title might lead you to believe (to nuraido, the title conjures images of vampires and exorcisms). It's actually a delightful Coen Brothers movie. She ate paint chips as a child, explaining this fear of Coen Brothers movies, as well as who the hottest man is (see point i). Anyway, I recommend the Hud, she recommends both.

PPPPS - Seriously, watch all of these movies. Like you've got something to do tonight...