Everyone should see it

Rating: Null/10 (25 November 2003)

A quick summary of The Graduate: Ben Braddock has just graduated college and is worried about his future. He has no direction or idea of what he will do with his life. Ben starts having an affair with a friend of the family, Mrs. Robinson. The story complicates when Ben falls in love with Elaine, Mrs. Robinson's daughter. The narrative continues with Ben chasing Elaine everywhere asking her to marry him. I just viewed The Graduate in my film studies class for the first time. I really liked the film, because it is not a typical sixties film. It is from the point of view of a young man who has everything he could ask for in life. It is not just drugs, hippies, and sex. I liked The Graduate because I am high school student who can still relate to this film, even though it was made almost thirty years ago. Ben is still representative of youth today. He is just a kid who has no idea what he will do with the rest of his life and why at age twenty he has to know everything about his future. I thought the scene where Ben has to come out dressed in his scuba gear and show his parents and their friends how he learned to scuba was great. It represents how Ben has felt his whole life, as if he is `drowning.' I think the people who made this film did a wonderful job. When I found out Dustin Hoffman was thirty when he made this film and Anne Bancroft was only thirty-five, I was very surprised. They did a wonderful job of making Hoffman's character seem only twenty. Hoffman also did a great job acting, I would have never guessed he was thirty. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who hasn't seen it. It is one of Dustin Hoffman's greatest roles. Take the time to see this excellent comedy.